You Can't Escape Destiny
by TeagueTesseko
Summary: Modern!AU, In sixth form Merlin realises that Arthur is nothing but an arrogant bully, and when he meets him again in London, nothing seems to have changed. But will Arthur give him a reason to believe otherwise?
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Welcome to my new story! I have papers due these next two weeks so updates might be a bit slow, but I have a plot line to follow so it shouldn't be too bad! Thank you for coming! (I don't own Merlin, etc. etc...)

**Chapter 1: Sixth Form Sorrows**

Even though Gwen was on the ins with Lancelot, Merlin was not spared the wrath of the football players at Albion. They were miserable brutes, in his opinion, and when he collided with one while running to class he hoped his days weren't numbered.

"Where do you think you're going?" He growled, shoving Merlin away from him. Looking down at the pale boy, Valiant figured he could probably snap one of his gangly limbs in half.

"Oh, I don't know, class?" Came his exasperated response as he shook his head at the idiotic man. He didn't have time for this. The bus had only gone to city centre and he'd had to run the rest of the way, using every fibre of his being to still be grateful for going to a much more prestigious school...even if it was nearly an hour out of Ealdor. Turning on his heel Merlin headed for his classroom, hastily tucking in his shirt as he went but a meaty fist on his collar stopped him as he was yanked backwards.

"Did I say you could go?"

"And since when did you have any authority over my actions?"

"Listen your God damn bender..."

"Bender? Your vocabulary astounds me. Now if you'd please let me go." Merlin spat, twisting in his grip. Gwen always told him that he had no sense of self preservation, and as a large fist was raised, ready to crash into his pale face, Merlin began to think that maybe she was on to something.

"Gentlemen." The fist paused and Merlin found himself being dropped hurriedly as Mr. Becket looked at the two of them, "I believe class is about to start." He suggested as Merlin grinned, grabbed his bag and scurried in behind the teacher. While being a high performing student was prone to teasing, sometimes it did have its perks.

Tossing his bag on the floor, Merlin slid in next to a sandy haired boy who gave him a quick pat.

"I thought you'd missed the bus."

"No, it only went to city centre today so I had to run."

"Who'd you hit?"

"Valiant, but no worries mate, I sent him packing." And with that he grinned while Will simply rolled his eyes.

"Good morning Merlin." A quiet voice from behind him spoke up. Turning, Merlin smiled at Freya, a shy slip of a girl who sat behind him. He awarded her a large smile that stretched across his pale features, making her blush. This had always confused him. Sure, she was fit, but he wasn't particularly interested, but none the less.

"Morning Freya, are you okay?"

"I'm doing quite all right."

"I'm glad to hear."

Becket tapped on the board to catch their attention as they turned, "Now who can tell me about the propagandistic use of the Arthurian legends..."

Merlin's hand shot up.

Lunch was always an interesting time of day for Merlin. While most of the day he could get way with being in class and missing out on seeing most of the student population, lunch always presented the problem of everyone in one place at one time. Now, Merlin had assumed that everyone that ran Albion obviously had been to some form of school and he wondered how anyone would think it was a good idea to force the student body to congregate to one area to socialise. Especially when there was food involved. Just because they were dressed in button downs and pressed trousers meant absolutely nothing for the lack of maturity many of them could achieve. But since the weather was, miraculously, warm enough for them to sit outside he couldn't help but smile.

"You look happy!"

"I like it out here." Gwen smiled down at Merlin's answer. She knew her friend was more accustomed to the rural life and having to go to school in the city was sometimes difficult. Lancelot walked over, blocking the sun with his strong figure.

"Hello Lancelot."

"Afternoon Freya."

"Come on! Sit down Lance, you're blocking the sun!" Will cried out at him as the man laughed and laid out his jacket for Gwen to sit on. The group resisted the urge to roll their eyes at his chivalric display. It was sweet though, so they didn't mind too much.

"Merlin!" The raven haired boy looked up from his book at Gwen, eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open. "You can't just sit and read, you're with friends, talk with us." She smiled warmly as he looked slightly dismayed and put his book away. She frowned, "But you don't have to, you know, if you don't want to, because you can read, we don't mind."

"Gwen."

"What?"

"It's fine really, now, when are you and Lancelot getting married?" His eyebrows wriggled suggestively as she blushed and Lancelot wrapped a warm arm around her with a smile,

"A while! Now come on Merlin, tell us, you must have someone on your mind, those day dreaming looks can't just be from your books."

"Yeah! I bet Merlin fancies someone." Will chimed in traitorously.

"I don't!"

"Sure, I've seen your eyes linger on the football blokes..." And with that, Lancelot and Freya both blushed as Merlin tackled Will, whacking him on the head lightly as they tussled in the grass.

"Hey, the peasantry is fighting." A snide tone called out across the grass. A few of the groups of students looked over at Merlin and Will as the they stopped, looking to see where the voice had come from. Merlin's eyes landed on Valiant first as Will carefully untangled himself from his friend.

"Shove off Valiant."

"What, so you and your boyfriend can have some alone time?"

"Oh come off it." Merlin stood up, brushing the grass off his front as Gwen tried to quietly tell him to stop, "Having some insecurities?"

"What the hell are you going on about?" Valiant advanced as Lancelot stood up, looking around for the rest of his team. Most of them were now paused, watching Valiant who seemed to have wandered off from an impromptu scrimmage. More of the students had paused their activities to see if a fight would break out - it had happened before.

"Are you hiding something? If you want, you can come out to me, a lot easier than teasing me to get your wanton desires off your chest." Merlin hissed, he was so fed up with them, the entitled, arrogant brats. Valiant's eyes flashed dangerously as he started forward again, arms tense, ready to strike as Lancelot moved forward to get between them. But a voice called out across the grass, breaking through the tense silence and stopping everyone.

"Valiant! I need my centre back." Merlin broke his stare with Valiant to look past his shoulder, towards the group playing football. _Arthur,_ he thought, looking at the blonde. He was dressed in dark jeans and a burgundy polo that clung to a sculpted chest. His blonde hair was swept to the side and he caught Merlin's gaze in powerful blue eyes. The tone left no room for discussion, and as a _Pendragon_ he didn't even need the authority of team captain to make an order like that. But it was a good ruse to diffuse the situation without humiliating Valiant. Merlin hadn't realised he was staring until Valiant snarled, breaking his concentration as he leaned towards him.

"Next time." He growled, turning on his heel and storming off to his team mates. Looking back up Merlin caught Arthur's eyes on him again, and for some reason he _blushed_. Why was he looking at a Pendragon! Why was a Pendragon looking at _him_ for God's sake? But then Lancelot's hand was on his shoulder,

"Merlin?" He asked softly, eyes imploring as Merlin schooled his confused look and replaced it with a soft smile,

"Sorry."

"Just be careful." He warned, sitting back down with Gwen. The group was now suspiciously quiet as Will looked over his shoulder towards Arthur, then back to Merlin.

"I was just kidding earlier, but, really mate, if you really fa-" Merlin cut him off.

"I don't fancy anyone." His voice was tight, and he let out a huff of air and grabbed his book. "I'm going to go to the library, I'll see you next class."

With that he stood, heading across the grass towards the buildings. The sun was warm on his back and he tried to ignore the murmurs he heard behind him. It was nothing new, he told himself, just a part of the routine. _Look at his ears, look at his ratty shoes, look at the fag._ It almost didn't bother him anymore. Merlin knew, he really did, that he was destined for better things. His Uncle Gaius knew someone at the British Museum and he knew he'd be going to a good Uni no matter what he had to do to get there. That's why usually he either let the comments slide, or he fought back. Prats like Valiant, they expected everyone to lay at a dead faint at their feet, and Merlin refused to give it to them. He'd gone through years of teasing because he was too poor or too thin or too smart and he'd gained a fiery disposition. But still, that didn't mean he liked to fight and leaving for the peace and quiet of the library was a welcome idea.

Looking up he walked a wide berth around the men kicking the ball back and forth. His eyes were drawn to Arthur, the blonde haired Adonis of Albion. Merlin had never met the boy, but everyone knew about Pendragon, a star football player destined for glory and expensive business suits and high society. His father was head of Camelot Corporation in London and he was rich as sin, but he had never bothered Merlin before. Probably because he was so obscenely low on the social ladder Arthur would have to stoop, and he figured a Pendragon did not _stoop_. But he understood the hype around Arthur, as much as he hated to admit it, because he really was gorgeous. Everything Arthur was, Merlin wasn't. He was tanned and strong with chiselled features that caught the eye of every girl, and Merlin felt a pang of inner conflict at feeling attracted to him.

As Arthur turned he met Merlin's gaze for a moment and kept it. It startled Merlin, who flushed at the thought of being caught looking but he couldn't seem to draw away his gaze. He watched as the young man panted, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Watching his eyes Merlin noticed them widen softly as Arthur's mouth opened to say something. But Merlin didn't hear it as the football collided with the side of his head. The whole world tilted as an overwhelming static enveloped him, bring on a nauseousness that only increased as black crept around his vision. But he knew no more as it finally overtook him and his body hit the grass.

When Merlin finally came to his senses the first thing he noticed was the painful throbbing in his head. It felt as if his brain were being rhythmically inflated against the confines of his skull and the pressure and pain behind his eyes made him wince. Voices filtered in and out, someone asking if they should get a nurse, quiet whispers, snickering? Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the pain he knew would spike, Merlin forced his eyes open.

The figure in front of him was blurry and the brightness produced a dull ache in his eye sockets. Blinking, his hands grasped at the grass as the figure became more clear and with startling clarity Merlin realised it was Arthur. He yelped, trying to sit up quickly but as his blue eyes were suddenly clouded again he couldn't manage and a hand shot out to support his back.

"Easy there, " Lancelot coaxed, "Just lay down for another minute or two until your senses come back." This wasn't hard for Merlin to do and he settled back down and closed his eyes, waiting for the world to stop spinning around him. When he finally felt he could try again, he opened his eyes and with Lancelot's help he managed to sit up, rubbing the side of his face gingerly where he knew a bruise would form. He could remember staring at Arthur and he thought he was about to say something when..._Oh,_ he thought, _He was about to warn me._ Looking up he saw Arthur brooding with an expression mixed between annoyance and possibly...concern? Reaching out he extended a hand to Merlin, looking some what exasperated as Merlin stared at the hand for what seemed like an eternity before grabbing it and being pulled to his feet.

"Good thing your ears slowed you on your way down, if you hit the ground any harder I'm sure you would have broken in half." Arthur teased, but there was a lack of malice in his voice. Flushed, Merlin stuttered for a moment, trying to come up with a thank you as he untangled his hand from Arthur's, but nothing coherent came out.

"Merlin!" Gwen exclaimed, pulling his attention away, "I went and let the nurse know but since you're up I'll just walk you there myself." Her voice tapered off as she noticed Merlin wincing at the volume. He slowly turned and watched as Valiant gave him a smug look, his buddies patting his shoulder as the young men turned to gather their football and head back to class. Arthur gave him one last calculating look, something Merlin couldn't place, until he finally turned around and looked at Valiant,

"If you miss a goal by that much again I swear to God I'll put you on the sidelines..." He muttered, and Merlin had the nagging feeling that Arthur was protecting him.

That feeling easily subsided as Merlin had the misfortune of running into Arthur on a daily basis. Merlin had always thought he was lucky, blessed with a high level of intelligence and wit, but now he doubted this as the fates toyed with him.

It was Friday and the third time he'd had the displeasure of meeting Arthur in less than ideal circumstances. He'd tripped over him Monday, opened a door into him Wednesday and it was now Friday and he had just tripped over Arthur's leather satchel, falling and catching the man's tray of food on his way to the floor. As he hit the floor he cursed softly, but was glad it wasn't too hard of a fall - until Arthur's lunch tray, plate and glass of cola came showering down to his back and head. The glass thunked dully against his skull, spilling its sugary contents on his head as the burning hot jacket of cheese and beans splattered painfully against his neck and back. He quickly shot up off his front and wiped furiously at the food that was burning his neck as cola dripped onto his face and in his eyes. The laughter was positively raucous and Merlin could feel a blush burning across his cheek bones and up over his ears.

"You know..." A voice came from behind him, "When you took that ball the face last week I thought perhaps you were unlucky. But after all this I'm starting to think you're simply an idiot. Did your mother drop you on your head repeatedly as a child." Arthur said coldly as Merlin turned around to regard the young man. His blue eyes were unamused as he stood up, looking down at his shoes which had a splatter of soda on them. "Do you have any idea how much these cost?"

Merlin had been about to apologise but when he heard that remark he stopped and brought his lips together in a thin. It wasn't his fault that the clot pole had left his bag out in the walkway. Looking at the blonde haired prat he looked down at his shoes, then back up to his face.

"Then you probably ought to wipe them off." He replied as Arthur's jaw clenched and the room had gone quiet. Gwen put her forehead in her palm and shook it softly. Merlin waited for Arthur's response but when he figured people didn't normally talk to him like that, he continued, "Oh, I'm sorry, your ego probably wouldn't fit through the door of the loo."

"Oh shit..." Was all Will could offer as Arthur stepped forward,

"What did you say to me?"

"So it effects your hearing too?"

"You can't talk to me like that, do you _know_ who I am?"

"Yes, I thought you were a normal person, but you're actually an enormous prat."

"You can't talk to me like that!" Arthur exclaimed again, unsure of what to do with the bean pole of a young man who dared talk back to him. This just didn't happen and everyone in the room watched with bated breath.

"Oh, I"m sorry, you are an enormous prat, milord." He countered sarcastically, bowing slightly as he still dripped with Arthur's lunch. Merlin had thought he was different and in his attraction to the man he'd foolishly forgotten the nonsense the blonde took part in daily. How he could tease anyone, say anything and do nothing but glide past his peers on the favour of every faculty member. The brief illusion Merlin had created after the football incident had just shattered painfully.

"Just because everyone else kisses the ground you walk on and ignores your behaviour doesn't mean you're not just a pompous brat. Just because everyone else is too afraid to stand up to you because you can run home to Daddy doesn't mean I am. You're a bully, plain and simple. So I do know who you are Arthur _Pendragon_, you are a complete and utter arse."

When he finished his cheeks were flushed and his hands were shaking. Arthur was stock still, but his friends had stood up behind him and the air was thick with tension. Merlin could have been mistaken because of Arthur's next move, but for a moment he thought he saw something in those blue eyes, something akin to realisation or hurt. But he didn't have much time to think about it as Arthur looked back at his friends who were beginning to pick up various food stuffs.

"Well then _Mer_lin. I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson." And with that Arthur stepped aside with a smirk as the table of his mates pelted Merlin with food.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Heya! Sorry if this posted in your email twice, fan fiction has been giving me a rough time getting these up...Next chapter, thank you for reading, feel free to review. This one and the next will be kind of short because I want to update but I'm super busy! Thanks for reading and reviewing it means the WORLD to me. (I don't known Merlin, yadayada...)

**Chapter 2: Didn't I Say No?**

"No."

"Merlin."

"No."

"But why don't you-"

"No." And with that the lissome young man stacked another coffee cup on the already full tray and hefted it up onto his arm. When he turned and looked at Gwen he had an apologetic smile on his face. She looked at him, frowning as she took in his tired eyes that were smudged with shadow. It was 5pm on a Monday and Merlin had three lectures that morning and then started his shift at one. He didn't mind though. At least he got the evening crowd who were coming off their caffeinated high from the day and were much less likely to yell at him than those craving their first cup of tea on a rough Monday morning.

"Merlin please," She pleaded, following him as he headed for the counter. "You'll make better money there."

"The hours won't work with Uni."

"They work with mine."

"Well they won't work with mine."

"It's in a nice place and it's only a few blocks from Trafalgar Square!"

"Too busy. I like it here, and anyways, everything I'm doing is here, what good is it being all the way over there? I can walk to Russell Square in two minutes and be at Buckingham Palace in no time if I really wanted to. I don't need to work over there."

"But Merlin."

"No Gwen, but thank you."

"You're making up excuses. This would look better on any resume you put together."

"My resume will look fine." He lied.

"If this is about Arthur." And with that Merlin really stopped. Gwen worked in the PR department of Camelot Corporations, bringing in enough money to help fund her nursing degree. He put the tray down and turned around to face her, chewing on his bottom lip.

"This isn't about Arthur, Gwen." The response had sounded stronger in his mind than the near whisper that came from his lips. It really wasn't about Arthur, really, it wasn't. He hadn't so much as talked to him after what they had dubbed 'The Incident'. He had gone on to uni and Merlin had gleaned from the papers that he had graduated with stunning success to start in with his Father's business. And Merlin? Well he was finishing uni, working on getting an internship at the British Museum and just trying to get by with his meagre existence. In reality, he really hadn't thought about the young man until Gwen announced half a year ago that she was working at Camelot, and all the same he'd forgotten about it in the whirl of a new term. It wasn't about Arthur.

"Then stop messing around and come in for an interview already." She huffed. Gwen knew that deep down Merlin had never really gotten over what had happened at Albion. When the onslaught of food ended in a severe allergic reaction, Merlin had been rushed to the A&E and Arthur had never bothered to enquire as to his health. Gwen figured that Merlin wasn't angry still, but she could only assume that he was still hurt by the cruel act and had no desire to work under him or his father. But still, she knew Merlin, and she knew the tiny apartment he lived in on the wrong side of town. He'd come around.

"Okay." He sighed, feeling defeated. Looking down he saw the various unidentifiable stains of food and beverages, and decided that perhaps a better job was in order. "Monday."

"See?" Gwen kissed his cheek, "Not so hard." And with that she left, leaving Merlin to look around the small coffee shop. It really wasn't that bad.

But then as Merlin learned bright and early Monday morning, the coffee shop was certainly nothing like downtown London at 9am. The tube dropped him off at Charing Cross and he couldn't help but wince at the whir of activity surrounding the roundabout. Regarding his position he headed east on the Strand, ducking his ill fitting suit in and out of the throngs of business men as they made their way to work, briefcases in hand. Looking up at the small white plaque marking the street, Merlin ducked right towards the Embankment and found the entrance to the office building. It was modest looking, Camelot Corporation printed in gilded script, reflective glass allowing Merlin to look at his bedraggled but somewhat endearing figure. He seemed too thin, the blazer draped across his shoulders as if they hung on a stiff hanger. But his white button up looked crisp on his small frame, and his trousers fit close to his wiry legs. A gust of autumnal weather blew his red scarf, and as he pressed it to his chest he took a deep breath and went in.

Merlin couldn't help but gawk at the beehive of activity. What had looked like a rather modest business exterior revealed a marble and glass palace of modernity. _It's bigger on the inside..._he thought with a bemused smirk as he strode to the secretarial desk. After introducing himself to a rather busty and bored looked red head, he continued down the hall and sat in a consulting room. It was pristine, right angles and gloss and Merlin didn't particularly want to touch anything lest he mess it up. But when Gwen peered her head in the door, smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up he couldn't help but feel uplifted.

"Please say you're interviewing me." He smiled at her as she came in, shutting the door.

"Actually, I've been given permission to give you this." And with that, she slid a file folder across the table at him. With curious eyes he flipped the manila folder open and glanced down at the bright white sheet of paper.

"But...this is a job offer."

"Well I'm glad you can read, they could only assume from the eloquently typed cover letter..."

"Don't joke with me at a time like this! How do I already have an offer?" He exclaimed, looking up at her smiling face.

"We need more people, and since I gave you my most _glowing_ recommendations, Leon was more than happy to hire you on."

"Gwen this, this is amazing. But, what about my schedule? Classes, and travel time and..."

"You can discuss that with Leon. If you're ready to accept he'd be more than happy to talk about the details with you, I think he's got the perfect little niche for you here. It's really not anything big Merlin."

"Gwen," he looked down at the details, "I might actually be able to pay my rent now." Guilt from how he'd turned her down the day before weighed on the corners of his mouth, but a smug smirk from Gwen caused him to smile.

"See, I told you so." And Merlin couldn't complain because as his hectic schedule of lectures, seminars and work overwhelmed the rest of his week, he had nearly forgotten where he worked. The "Castle" as they liked to call this small branch of Camelot Corporations. (Apparently, the main office was located in Canary Wharf). Merlin was never particularly sure what they did, it seemed Camelot was a thousand different corporation's rolled into one rich and important package. What Merlin did know however, was that Uther came to the Castle at 2pm sharp Tuesday through Friday. It was Merlin's job to compile a summary of correspondence for Uther and his associates to look over. It wasn't the nightmare that he'd imagined when thinking of working for the Pendragon's and by his second week Merlin felt like he was in his element.

He'd come in Tuesday through Friday at noon, saying hello to a placid, but surprisingly sweet Percival who manned the front door. He'd then spend the next two hours taking phone calls, transcribing messages and answering emails. By two he'd deliver the summary and for the next three hours until half five he'd run errands and odd jobs to the hearts content of the higher ups. And by Friday he'd be done for a few days, to forget about his menial job and down a pint with and the other Castle 'servants' at the Lamb and Flag.

But this Friday afternoon was different, because at 2pm Uther walked in looking sharp enough to cut metal, but without his usual entourage. Today at 2pm when he stepped through the mirrored glass doors, he was followed by the blonde haired Adonis:

Arthur _Bloody_ Pendragon.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: Hello! Hope you're all well...Reviews for this chapter are especially welcome! Big chapter for everyone! Thank you for sticking around, hope this is good!

**Chapter 3: Does Fate Have a Sense of Humour?**

Arthur stopped when he walked in and Merlin swore it was like one of those bloody rom coms Gwen forced him to watch. Time seemed to stop as he took off his sunglasses and ran a hand through his slightly tousled blonde hair. His strong fingers tucked the Ray Bans into a breast pocket and he surveyed the first floor with a calculating gaze. When he finally stepped forward after a moment the lobby took a collective breath and the world once again began to turn. Arthur strode over to Merlin's quiet corner desk with an air of confidence and perched on the corner of the desk, not bothering to look down at the raven haired man. As he scooted back a bit to sit comfortably he knocked a stack of papers over which Merlin caught and moved, pursing his lips. Arthur didn't even look at him,

"I want a sandwich, just my usual order you know, no pickle. Also, I want Starbucks. A venti, no foam skim vanilla latte with an extra shot, piping hot and not too sweet with an almond biscotti - I don't want it broken either. Have it in my office in ten." And with that he stood as Merlin gaped in astonishment. At least he wasn't unfounded in his assumptions that Arthur's character, even after a few years, had not changed.

"Please?" With that Arthur paused, the voice sounded familiar...and when he turned around he knew why.

"You."

"Please and thank you go a long way in the world," Merlin said casually. "But I'll have it on your desk in _twenty_." He said cooly, getting his coat. This certainly wasn't secondary school anymore and as much as he wanted to call him a brat, he needed this job.

"Marvin."

"Merlin."

"Whatever, _Mer_lin." he replied, as the young man in front of him spun on his heel and headed out the door. Arthur couldn't help as his eyes travelled down, taking in the slight curve of Merlin's pinstripe trousers. He'd grown up, but with that attitude he certainly hadn't changed. And Arthur didn't know how to feel about that.

""""""""""""""

"He's horrible."

"Really Merlin, he can't be that bad." Leon tried to comfort as Gwen shooed him away, wrapping an arm around Merlin's slumped shoulders.

"He's spoiled, but really, he is a very smart..."

"Arrogant."

"Hard working..."

"_Idiot._"

"Come on mate, buck up, it's Friday tomorrow and you'll be done." Gwaine commented from his stool across the table from Merlin. Tossing his hair back, he grinned as Percival nodded. "Then _Princess_ Arthur can fetch his own bloody toastie."

It had been an insufferable week. Arthur was now accompanying Uther in his daily appointments to gain a better understanding of the company he would be inheriting. The last few days had been torture for Merlin. While Arthur didn't go expressly out of his way to annoy him, he certainly didn't make his life easy, and Merlin had looked so murderous after Arthur's last round of unjustified criticism that Gwen had recommended they all go to the pub tonight. Gwaine, who had started working there as security shortly after Merlin was hired, was more than happy to accompany them. He had known Arthur in school and had even dated his half-sister, Morgana for a time. They were mates, mostly, and Gwaine didn't conceal his attitudes on Arthur's behaviour most of the time.

"You're right, I won't let him get to me."

"That's the spirit!"

"See Merlin, you can do it." Leon raised a glass and the four of them toasted. When Leon turned to Percival and began talking, Gwen joined in and left Merlin and Gwaine to themselves.

"You doing okay mate?" Merlin looked up, meeting Gwaine's gaze which was angled down at him inquisitively.

"Yeah, I just, all this with Arthur. Bloody clot pole." He muttered, downing a nearly full pint of cider. "So Gwaine, how did you end up in the castle?"

"I knew Arthur at Uni, and we were pretty good mates. He and I got along well enough, so we got a group together," He nodded towards Leon and Percival, and moved his stool around closer to Merlin, "And played footie on the weekends."

"What were you reading?"

"Global communications, or some bollocks like that."

"What happened to it?" Merlin asked, leaning forward and propping his spinning head on his hand.

"Not for me mate! Dated for a while but I wasn't ready to be tied down to anything." He wriggled his eyebrows as Merlin giggled, "I took off to Spain and France for the last two years, mostly, but I've been about."

"You just, left?" Though he wouldn't admit it, sometimes Merlin wanted more than anything to just slough off his responsibilities and go to the continent for something, anything new.

"I would just go and see if I could find work, under the table, and settle down until I started itching to go again."

"That's brilliant Gwaine."

"It was great, but I needed to come back to England for awhile, people in Barcelona were much too cheery so I came back to see some Brits." Gwaine winked at Merlin, "So I rang Arthur and he helped me get the job."

"I guess Arthur isn't so bad."

"You shouldn't worry so much about Arthur." Gwaine leaned in a bit as Merlin blinked up at him tiredly.

"Why not?"

"Because you're..." But at that moment Merlin's elbow slipped and he lost his balance on the stool. He swung his arm around and caught the table, nearly knocking over the empty bottles of Kopparberg. He had finished three already and he was definitely feeling it. He began to talk, rambling on in his alcohol induced haze.

"He just thinks he owns everything because he's so rich, and well, he doesn't and it's not fair to anyone."

"Nope."

"He orders everyone around."

"Always."

"And it's just not nice, he made a girl _cry_ for getting his coffee order wrong."

"He's our Princess."

"Well, I refuse to let him effect me like this. He doesn't own me."

"He wouldn't be so lucky..." Gwaine smiled at his drunk companion, putting an arm around his shoulder and ruffling his hair playfully. He hadn't known Merlin for long, but he already liked the compassionate young man. He just had a sense of caring about him, something that always made him stand up for the down trodden, that Gwaine truly admired. "Don't let him get to you, it's same old Arthur, just let him be. You'll be doing something better soon enough my friend, or at least the novelty of bossing you around will wear off."

"I think," Merlin stated, trailing off at the end to ponder. "You're right, and also...that I'm drunk." He announced, getting up onto unsteady feet. Gwaine grabbed his shoulder to make sure he didn't fall and pressed him gently back to his seat, ordering another round. He moved a lock of hair behind Merlin's ear, letting his rough fingers run down his angled cheek bone before dropping back to his lap with a shake of his head. _Anyways,_ he thought, it wasn't his job to be the responsible one, that was Gwen's deal. And seeing as she was deep in conversation with Leon it was Gwaine's responsibility to make sure the man got enough alcohol in him to forget his troubles. Draping his arm across Merlin's shoulders again, Gwaine clinked his pint against Merlin's

"I think you and I are going to be good friends."

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

The first word out of Merlin's mouth that morning was something relatively unsavoury directed at the sunlight streaming through the window on the wall. The first thought that ran through his mind was how he was thankful he didn't have courses on Friday. And the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was not his apartment. Blinking, he tried to suss out the events of the previous night as he kneaded his forehead to try and stop the throbbing.

"Morning sunshine." Gwen said cheerfully as she walked into the living room, going into the kitchen and fetching a glass from the cupboard.

"Mornin'?" Merlin replied around a sour tongue, glad that he was at least on the couch of someone he knew. He'd never woken up on a strangers couch and he wasn't planning on starting now.

"How do you feel?"

"How do you think."

"Like you drank too much cider and should have quit when I told you?" She smiled, coming over and holding out two tablets of Paracetemol and a glass of water.

"Thank you Gwen..."

"Don't thank me, Gwaine nearly carried you up here." Her eyes were sparkling as she sat down, toying with her braid as Merlin nearly choked on his water.

"He what?"

"Well I think he felt guilty, well actually not guilty. But at least responsible, well, almost proudly so really...Anyways, he was the one that kept ordering rounds so he decided to help you to my place."

"That was nice of him." Merlin flushed to the tips of his ears.

"You thought so last night too. You kept telling him thank you and that he had _beautiful_ eyes."

"I did not!" He winced, looking at her with a horrified face.

"You did."

"Oh god..."

"Come on, get up, it's ten and we have to be to work by twelve. I think you'll have to go back to your place for clothes though, I only have some of your casual stuff." She replied, looking back towards the bedroom. Merlin's apartment was a disaster, the heater had a habit of going out and sometimes the bathroom would flood. Gwen was a saint, always letting him use her couch.

"Did I really tell him he had beautiful eyes?" Merlin could not believe it, he'd made it a habit of not hitting on attractive straight men, but it seems that went out the window when he got drunk. Unless Gwen was taking the piss, but she usually couldn't hide it for that long.

"If you're worried about saying that I won't tell you what else you said..."

"Gwen!"

"Oh Merlin, I wouldn't tease you about it if he was upset, you know that right?"

"I suppose."

"You can ask him your self in oh," she looked at the clock, "Two hours." Giggling, she ducked back into her bedroom before Merlin could lob a badly aimed pillow towards her.

It was a beautifully sunny day for October in England, but Merlin really couldn't appreciate the fact as he shielded his aching eyes and tried to block out the overwhelming noise of the street. Gwen pat his head not so sympathetically, and lead him into Camelot.

"Take another two during tea," She said, handing him the blister pack of pain killers, "And you'll feel better in no time. You shouldn't have had all that coffee."

"I needed the coffee."

"Make sure you keep drinking water then. The caffeine is going to dehydrate you and the alcohol already did a number on your hydration levels so..."

"Thank you mum." He smiled, kissed her cheek and walked in. Gwaine was standing just inside the door, smiling like an idiot as Merlin groaned.

"Merlin! Afternoon, how delicate are you today?" He asked, ruffling Merlin's hair and retracting his hand when he winced. "I am sorry my friend, but you'll be better double quick now that I'm here."

"I think you're the reason I feel like this in the first place."

"No, I'm the reason you felt so good last night." The way it came out Merlin couldn't help but blush, but Gwaine erupted in a fit of laughter, "Well you did say..."

"I don't want to know!" Merlin cried, trying to look scandalised but the smile that tugged on his lips was too much to ignore and he grinned at Gwaine.

"I do have pretty eyes though."

"Yes you do." Giggling, Merlin pat his arm, making the larger man smile, "Tea at 3pm, you'll be in the break room?"

"What would I do without it."

"Work?"

"Where's the fun in that." As Percival walked across the lobby towards the two, Gwaine winked at Merlin and turned back to his guard duty, looking much too serious. His day made infinitely better Merlin headed to his corner work station, hung up his coat, slid his ragged tote under the desk and took a deep breath. As he fiddled with his shirt, making sure it was tucked in and his dark blue neckerchief was neat, he glanced across the lobby at Gwaine.

He was talking to Percival, the other man more subtle in his emotions while Gwaine was all teeth and squinting eyes. His soft, chin length brown hair was perfectly groomed and shined when he shook his head with laughter and his facial hair gave him a rugged edge, even in his business suit. Merlin's heart pulled and he sat down quickly, trying to quell the feelings of attraction for the other man. He had dated Arthur's half sister for Gods sake, and after Merlin had gotten a glimpse of her in the office he was under the notion that she was _the_ stereotypical woman. All curves, curls and beauty. He shook his head, running a hand through his perpetually messy hair before turning to his work. For the next two hours he sorted through emails, invoices and sticky notes left from the morning receptionist, typing up a neat bullet list of correspondence. Every once in awhile he would look up and see Gwaine talking to a fellow employee, or directing a client. But when he was done he'd look straight to Merlin's desk and smile, winking as Merlin would stutter and turn back to his work.

Merlin stood when Uther walked through the door, handed him the file folder as he did everyday at two, and sat down relieved when Arthur hadn't followed him in. Turning back to the papers he was sorting for Leon, his thoughts were rudely interrupted by a prep school accent,

"Dumbo." Gritting his teeth Merlin looked up through his eyelashes. Arthur was sat on the corner of his desk (which Merlin now kept devoid of papers) sipping a Starbucks coffee. He quirked an eyebrow,

"Your highness? I see that you managed to get your own coffee today."

"_Mer_lin. I feel like I've told you this before..." Arthur trailed off, setting his coffee cup in the middle of what Merlin was looking at and raised his hand to his chin, thinking. "But, you actually can't talk to me like you would your normal peasantry. You _work_ for me now."

"That would mean I _shouldn't_ talk to you like that, but sometimes I think it would do your inflated ego a bit of good." Merlin bit out, letting his earlier frustrations come through. He regretted his lack of self control but it was true in school and it was still true now: No one stood up to Arthur and since they allowed him to get away with whatever he pleased he didn't learn the common decencies of treating people with respect or dignity. And while Merlin could give as good as he got, some people couldn't.

This all frustrated Arthur to absolutely no end sometimes. He could have Merlin fired at any time, but for some reason he chose not to. Merlin presented a challenge, and not that it was something he'd be quick to admit, but he enjoyed it. His life was always one large schedule. Get up at seven, get ready for work, meet his father and sit through endless meetings and budget proposals and client meetings. It was all scheduled, every second of it, but Merlin refused to fit neatly into his calendar, he was more like an unexpected storm. Arthur was never sure what he was going to get on any given day, but it was never the usual respect and adoration he received from the other secretaries. It never had been, even back in school when everyone else was more than happy to give him whatever he wanted, Merlin had gone out of his way to point out his shortcomings. But it didn't matter now, because Merlin was still on the bottom rung and Arthur could call the shots. At least, he liked to think so. Merlin was simply a challenge for Arthur, a challenge with ridiculously large ears that he could destroy when he got bored. But until then...

"Someone obviously never taught you a lesson about respecting your superiors."

"Last time I checked, the definition of superior included something about a higher _quality_, not just status."

"Oh _Mer_lin, you will never learn." Arthur said, grinning down wolfishly at the man, causing him to shiver. The look distracted him and he didn't notice the way Arthur rocked the desk as he got up with an exaggerated flourish. The wooden desk rocked as the contents of the coffee cup sloshed forward, causing it to fall onto its side. The lid popped off and hot coffee poured over the papers and splattered into Merlin lap.

Yelping he dove out of his seat, hitting the desk and knocking over a stack of paperwork as he tried to escape the heat of the coffee. Snatching up the cup he righted it before any more spilled and grabbed the papers, burning his finger tips as he tried to get everything out of the way. At that moment Gwaine appeared in front of him, pushing Arthur out of the way slightly to help.

"Here I've got it, you're going to burn your hands." He said, snagging napkins out of the desk drawer and putting it over the flood of coffee.

"It's okay." Merlin shook his hands, his fingertips red. At least the majority had gotten on the desk and floor, and not on his pants, but half the paperwork from the file he was working on was now ruined. Looking up he met Arthur's eyes, he was livid.

"You did that on purpose you prat."

"Merlin." Gwaine warned, mopping up the coffee.

"How dare you accuse me of doing something like that."

"Arthur." Gwaine turned on his friend, looking at him at eye level. His shoulders were squared, and Arthur was surprised at the seriousness on his mate's face. Looking past him he saw Merlin sucking on his burned finger tips and felt a pang of guilt that was beginning to turn into jealousy as Gwaine turned and gently took Merlin's hand and inspected it. "Go run it under the tap and clean yourself up, I'll take care of this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah Merlin." He said, putting a hand on his shoulder that Arthur for some inexplicable reason wanted nothing more than to yank away. Before he could think about his emotions, Arthur turned and marched off to the elevator and his office, he had a meeting to attend to, not this nonsense. As he walked away Gwaine spared a kind smile to Merlin and nodded his head in the direction of the loo, "Go on."

With a sigh Merlin headed to the break room's kitchen instead. He might as well take the pain relievers now since he wouldn't have time for tea with half the paperwork he had done destroyed. Pushing the handle for cold water, he stuck his reddening finger tips under the stream of cold water, hissing at the sensation. He was so angry, he knew that Arthur had done it on purpose, and it simply wasn't right.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Gwen..."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to do it on purpose."

"Gwen, you and I both know that he did, so I'll just put it on my list of reason's to work harder at Uni so I can get a better job than this." He smiled weakly, his anger waning as she carefully probed his finger tips, looking at them with the caring eyes of a future nurse.

"How do they feel?"

"It's not too bad really, it was just the initial pain, I think I'll be able to go on." He grinned as she shook her head.

"Gwaine said it ruined the paperwork?"

"Mmmhm." He turned and dried his hands on a towel, wetting the corner and dabbing at a few of the spots on his trousers. Thank goodness they were black and would fade.

"I'll ask Leon to print them out again."

"Thank you Gwen. I better get back out there before I have a thousand calls backed up." Gwen walked off to get the duplicates from Leon and Merlin returned, laughing when he saw Gwaine lounging in his chair.

"Get out of there!"

"Why? This is more comfortable then standing by the door all day."

"You cabbage head," he laughed, tugging on Gwaine's sleeve. A few of the other employees looked over at them but said nothing, Merlin was one of the nicest people there, they certainly weren't going to reprimand him when he was out of earshot of the main lobby anyways. "You have the most important job, _Sir_ Gwaine, you protect the castle walls." He chided as Gwaine rose, relinquishing the seat to Merlin with a glint in his eye,

"Then I return to my post, in honour of my fair maiden, Merlin." He bowed, taking Merlin's hand and pressing his lips gently to the top of his knuckles. Still bowed he looked up through his fringe, smiling at the blush he saw on Merlin's ears. Letting go, he turned and walked back to the front door as Uther, Arthur and his associates came down to conduct a meeting in one of the large conference rooms.

Merlin was too distracted by the way Gwaine had acted to even bother seeing Arthur as he milled about the furnished waiting area at the front of the building. He couldn't help but watch Gwaine as he helped the various men coming in for the meeting, mechanically sorting the upset papers as his mind spun. Gwaine had just kissed his hand, he wasn't exactly sure what to think.

Arthur on the other hand was staring intently at Merlin, annoyed to no end that the target of his gaze was staring at Gwaine. It wasn't his fault he spilled his coffee, Merlin has provoked him with his insubordinate behaviour. And Arthur refused to feel bad about it, rather, he would feel angry. Merlin caused such a swell of emotion within him that he couldn't stand it, part of him maybe tormenting Merlin in some vague hope that the boy would quit and once again leave his life. He hadn't had to think about what happened between them when he was in sixth form. A few glorious years of living the high life at Uni with barely any parental supervision and funds to spare had done him good. Watching Merlin now though, it was so much different. Yes, he was still clumsy as he had ever been, tripping over the same rise in the carpet every day and laughing it off with the same smile and wave. The smile was definitely the same, Arthur always knew when it was coming, which was often, because his bottom lip would always tremble ever so slightly and the muscles in jaw would tighten just before the smile broke out across his features. He'd squint, and the laugh would make anyone in his general vicinity smile and laugh as well because he just had that effect on people.

But he didn't have that effect on Arthur, as far as the Pendragon was concerned. He didn't care about Merlin's goofy smile, he didn't like the way his ears turned red when he got upset, and he definitely didn't think he was oddly beautiful with his too long limbs and ill fitting business attire. No, Arthur didn't think any of those things. Merlin turned away from the man and tried to immerse himself in the business conversation around him

Merlin looked away from Gwaine to where Arthur was standing, watching him interact with his father and associates. His suit was grey, impeccably fit and not a thread out of order. On his hand was a signet ring, a dragon, that he would occasionally spin with his thumb when he was bored - now being one of those moments. Of course Arthur hadn't looked over to see of he was ok or if he had cleaned up the mess. Arthur didn't care about him, which was fine with Merlin, but he hoped that maybe the things he said to the man would make it through his thick skull and one day, perhaps one day he would care about _someone_. Hearing a raised voice, Merlin looked over to the door where Gwaine was talking to a woman who was obviously upset, her face tense. Percival had noticed the slight commotion and was headed over to make sure it was handled discreetly since Uther was there. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, Uther was a powerful man who seemed to have his hand in a bit of everything, leaving him with more than a few enemies. The two men could handle it, but for some reason Merlin's eye was drawn to a man walking towards Arthur and Uther and their pack of business types.

He was different somehow. His face was focused, his gait and shoulders tense and the way his right hand was held stiffly in his coat pocket looked as if he was holding something...And at that moment Merlin felt a wave of inexplicable panic flood through his body as he stood up. Gwaine and Percival were too busy with the woman to notice the man as he approached Arthur, beginning to smile. Merlin's mind screamed at everyone to look at him, but no one even turned and Merlin found himself running as the man pulled out a gun, levelling it at Arthur. It was as if time had slowed down and all Merlin could hear was the rush of blood in his ears.

Arthur turned as someone yelled, but he didn't have a chance to move before the man pulled the trigger. But a flash of black and dark blue crossed in front of him as the shot rang out, ricocheting up over his head and into the ceiling. And all of a sudden the silence was broken as a flood of noise washed over the lobby. The man, having realised that Merlin was the reason the gun was no longer in his hand, punched him viciously in the side of the head. Merlin was stunned, and as the world spun he felt a fist close around his neckerchief and slam him back into the marble floor. His neck snapped backwards as the back of his head met the floor with a sickening crack, and for a moment Merlin thought he saw Arthur swimming in the impending darkness. He was frozen in place, his face a mixture of surprise and fear.

Gwaine was across the lobby in no time. It had seemed like an eternity, but it had all happened in a few seconds and suddenly Gwaine's hands were grabbing the attacker and throwing him off of Merlin. Percival fought to pin him to the floor as Gwaine kneeled down and carefully caught Merlin's shoulder as the young man tried to roll over, waves of pain and nausea blinding him.

"Don't move Merlin, just stay awake, it's fine." Gwaine said, trying to keep his usually jovial voice steady as his heart pounded viciously against his chest. Merlin tried, but the darkness soon overwhelmed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note: Thank you guys for your responses! They mean so much to me and they really help me keep writing because then I'm more enthusiastic about writing. Thank you for keeping up with me, even though you're going to be suffering for just a _lil _bit (cough cough-two more chapters-cough). Also, the next chapter should be up around Tuesday, I have a paper due Monday.

**Chapter 4:** **What's destiny got to do with it?**

Merlin could swore he had woken up like this before, head throbbing, mouth sour. But this time it was different. When he opened his eyes he saw Gwen's worried face come into focus.

"Oh Merlin!" She grabbed him in a tight hug as he groaned softly, "Oh I'm sorry..." She helped him lay back down.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" This time it was Gwaine. Merlin raised a nervous hand to his forehead, holding it as he opened his eyes and fought off a wave of pain. Looking around he didn't have a clue as to where he was. It was a nice room and he currently occupied the large couch. It actually looked like someones living room, their really very expensive living room.

"I don't think...wait, Arthur?" Merlin could remember Arthur spilling the coffee, and he felt the stirrings of anger as he searched through his mind for an answer.

"Yes, Arthur." Gwen helped him sit up and inspected the side of his head, which hurt. But the pain was like a jolt to his memory and the events of the last hour began to materialise in Merlin's mind.

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'!" Kneeling down so he was at eye level, Gwaine looked at his face and eyes. "You saved his _life_ Merlin, you're the only one who acted."

"As much as I can't stand him it's not like I was going to let him get shot"

"No of course not." Grabbing Merlin's shoulder he squeezed it encouragingly and stood once again.

"He probably thought it was a bloody nuisance, me laying all over his floor." Merlin said, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he let his fingers tenderly probe the lump on the side and back of his head. That had _hurt_. Gwaine, doing the part of a good friend, neglected to tell Merlin that that was exactly how Arthur had reacted. Having seen the uncertainty and fear in his eyes Gwaine knew that the comment had just been Arthur throwing up his usual defences.

"Uther had a private physician come, he'll see you before you go home. He wants this to be kept quiet." Gwen sounded apologetic, but Merlin shrugged it off, figuring that this was only another sign that Uther actually wasa mob boss.

"It hurts, but I've taken a punch before."

"I gave a few back to him." Gwaine winked and Merlin found himself smiling despite the pain. What a mess the day had become.

"It really was like an action movie though Merlin."

"Gwen! I could have _died!_"

"But you didn't, oh Merlin, I'm sorry!"

"No, really, it's fine. Tell Arthur how heroic I looked."

"No, you looked like an _idiot_." All three of them turned to see Arthur leaning against the door frame, "Who grabs a gun with their bare hands?" Merlin spluttered.

"I just saved your life you arse!"

"I would have managed."

"I know you already act like you have a hole in your head but I doubt anot-" Someone cleared their throat behind Arthur and he stepped aside, admitting Uther and Leon. Merlin shut his mouth and looked at Uther as he walked over, holding a white envelope. With a flick of his wrist he presented it to Merlin between two fingers, the young man took it hesitantly.

"Merlin Emrys, you've just started working here at Camelot haven't you?"

"Yes Sir."

"You need to be rewarded for your actions today."

"No Sir, really, it is okay."

"You saved my son, my only son, that deserves a reward." Merlin could see sentiment in Uther's eyes, something that was foreign to the man's cold gaze. Arthur watched the scene with interest as Merlin fingered the envelope nervously. "In that envelope are some papers regarding this, 'incident', that I would like you to go over with Leon.

"Yes Sir."

"And there is also a check."

"Sir, I'm very grateful but please it was nothing, anyone would have..."

"As a reward for your actions I'm giving you a bonus to start your new job."

"You're firing me?" Merlin went pale as Gwen squeezed his hand. He couldn't stand the prat but he needed the job.

"No Mr. Emrys, I'm promoting you. You're going to be Arthur's new Personal Assistant."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Merlin."

"No."

"Merlin."

"Nnh."

"You have to at least breathe." Gwen said, exasperated. Merlin was laying on her couch, face down in the pillows where he had been for the last hour since they had left Camelot. Arthur had stormed off, Uther had looked pleased and left and the private physician deemed Merlin battered but fine, able to return to work Monday. Merlin had gone catatonic on the tube. Uther had given him a thousand quid to effectively keep his mouth shut, and it had definitely worked. Gwen had ushered him into his apartment (not wanting to leave him alone after having his head bashed in) and he had promptly collapsed on her sofa.

"I can put on Doctor Who."

"Mur."

"Holmes?"

"Neh."

"Merlin, it's not the end of the world, I promise. Do you want one of the pain killers?

"No thank you."

"See? Three words, that's a start." With a sigh Merlin sat up, taking off his neckerchief and rubbing his face tiredly. His thin hands shook softly but when he dropped them to his lap and looked at Gwen, he smiled,

"I know, I know, and the pay is much better I just can't even imagine being his personal assistant Gwen. He called me an idiot for saving his life, what in the bloody hell is he going to do if I get an appointment wrong."

"You two can finally work out whatever is going on between you two."

"Wait, what? What do you think is going on between us! He's a bloody tyrant who is trying to destroy my life Gwen."

"Oh Merlin, I really think you two could actually be good friends if you-"

"Friends!"

"Yes, _friends_ Merlin. He could use someone like you to keep him grounded, and I think he'd be good for you too."

"Yes because this is so good for me." He said, pointing at the lump on his head before burrowing back down into the pillows, turning away from her.

"Let's just see what the next week brings? I promise, it won't be that bad."

A depressive murmur was all she received in response.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Monday started out as normal day. Merlin woke up, took the bus to campus and attended his lecture and seminar as usual. He snagged the tube at Russell St., got off at St. James and walked into the park with an hour to spare before work. Walking along the small foot path he made it to the lake and sat on a bench overlooking the water and various fowl making a racket in some vain attempt to get fed. It worked well enough, and Merlin couldn't help but smile as people milled about, feeding geese and ducks as the little ones terrorised flocks of pigeons. It was cold out, nothing the city wasn't used to, but dark clouds hung low and threatened rain and snow. There were still icy patches left from the rain the night before, and Merlin could only hope that it wouldn't continue. Taking a slightly smushed peanut butter sandwich out of his bag, he began to eat, tearing off pieces with his thin fingers and popping them into his mouth thoughtfully.

He felt the need to mentally prepare for Arthur. While the man had been an insufferable git, he couldn't help but think that there was something there, something worth getting to know. He had really thought about what Gwen had said and had decided to give it a shot. Merlin smiled, he was going to give Arthur the benefit of the doubt. The Pendragon had to have some kind of redeeming qualities.

_Right?_

Getting up he held a piece of crust, breaking off pieces and tossing them to the smaller ducks that couldn't get anything. A large black swan with a red beak came stomping out of the water, effectively trampling a little wigeon as it tried to get some feed from a tourist couple taking photos. The man was much more interested in the more photogenic swan, so he kept feeding it, ignoring the wigeon as it desperately tried to get a bit of food.

"I know how you feel mate." Merlin said, squatting down next to the little green fence by the water, "He's all show though for that camera." Breaking off a piece of bread he held it out. The wigeon regarded him nervously, but eventually came over and took the piece as Merlin grinned. A few mallards saw him and headed over, but Merlin shooed them away with his hand, "Go on."

He would have swore the wigeon looked grateful as he fed him the rest of his sandwich and left. Crossing over the street he went around to The Mall to Trafalgar, before crossing over to The Strand and down the side street to Camelot. By the time he had arrived it had started raining, a light drizzle that made the streets wet and the air thick. When he walked in a few of the employees looked at him. He didn't really expect anything different, the events of that Friday had been rather dramatic, even though they had somehow managed to stay out of the paper. Looking around for Gwaine he frowned when he couldn't see him. The man had called on Saturday to see how he was doing, and Merlin was sure he had said he'd be there on Monday. Walking back to his desk Merlin wondered what his new duties would entail, he supposed he'd still be compiling his summaries, but when he handed them over he would accompany Arthur.

As he printed off his work ten till two, Merlin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He kneaded his temples with nimble fingers and thought about the rest of the day when a pair of hands settled onto his shoulders, scaring him.

"That was a cute noise." Gwaine said, his lips only a few centimetres from Merlin's ear.

"Gwaine you-"

"Handsome."

"Annoying."

"Debonaire."

"Meddling."

"Sweetheart, I know Merlin, you don't have to tell me." Straightening back up he pat Merlin's shoulder and smiled down at him as he spun his chair. Facing Gwaine he looked up at the cheeky grin that graced the stubbled face. He had missed him this weekend.

"I bet you missed me."

"Not one bit." Merlin countered with a smile, getting up and walking to the printer.

"So today you enter the dragon's lair."

"Don't remind me."

"Just tell him next time you won't save the day."

"I won't make that mistake twice." Merlin rolled his eyes, but deep down for some inexplicable reason he couldn't bear the idea of losing Arthur.

"Speak of the devil." With that Merlin turned, watching as Uther walked in. Extending the file folder to the man, he took it with a slight nod and headed for the elevator. Arthur however took his sweet time, stopping in the lobby as usual. Merlin knew his schedule by now. He'd walk in the door and stop within five or six steps to remove something, either sunglasses or a pair of gloves, and tuck them into a pocket. He'd look around, then proceed to Merlin's desk, perch on the corner and harass him before returning to his father - today was no different. Arthur removed a pair of black leather gloves, looking around as he tucked them into his coat pocket. His eyes landed on Merlin and seemed to pierce right through him.

Arthur held Merlin's gaze for a moment before he surveyed the rest of the young man, his new Personal Assistant. This would be fun he thought sarcastically, just imagining the level of rebellion Merlin would reach after more than an half hour with him. He still had on his silly neckerchief with a plain button down and black trousers. Looking back up Arthur started to walk, eying Gwaine.

"Heya mate, you okay?"

"Had a good weekend, see if Percival, Leon and Lancelot want to meet up on Saturday morning at the park."

"You know they will, we've been trying to get you out for weeks!" Arthur grinned.

"Not all of us have an easy schedule."

"Yeah Princess we don't, so try and accommodate us a little here okay?" Arthur scoffed and punched Gwaine in the arm, the two of them having a moment of mischief as they tussled. Merlin smiled, watching the two, thinking about how Gwaine really could bring out the best in Arthur. Too often the other man looked so drawn, focused on work and dead to the world, and to see him smile with joy and not some twisted humour at Merlin's expense was really quite nice. When he laughed he always opened his mouth wide, stretching his pink lips as the robust sound tumbled out over them. Merlin straightened a pile of papers on the desk, trying not to stare at the two.

"_Mer_lin." Arthur interrupted, "Is that my summary?"

"I put your name on it and everything." Arthur smiled for a millisecond as Gwaine laughed, whacking Arthur on the back and heading to his post. But the smile disappeared as Arthur fixed Merlin with a tough stare,

"I want my coffee and-"

"Your toastie and an unbroken biscotti. I know." Merlin snagged his thin coat and put it on.

"Ten minutes."

"Fifteen." And Merlin was out the door and Arthur was shaking his head. He had actually _enjoyed_ that interaction, and Arthur didn't think he was supposed to enjoy what he had deemed as a challenge. With a frown he turned and headed up to his office.

When Merlin returned, bag and coffee in hand he headed straight up to Arthur's office, setting the sandwich down on the desk and putting the coffee by his hand. Arthur watched him as he unwrapped the meal for him. He was shivering, his hands pale and cold but his cheeks flushed with warmth from the walk.

"Why do you have such a light coat _Mer_lin, it's freezing."

"Are you worried about me?" Merlin looked over at him from the corner of his eye, his lips turned up in an amused smirk.

"No, but if you get sick and get anywhere near me I'll fire you."

"Then definitely make sure I just leave it off next time I go out." Merlin grinned but shrugged off the question, not wanting to have to admit to Arthur that he hadn't had the money to buy a nice coat. It never really bothered him, he just couldn't layer as much at work since ratty jumpers weren't particularly dress code.

"Go clean out my filing cabinet." Arthur said, waving Merlin away from the desk. Walking over to the cabinet he found it wasn't anything particularly special looking, two large doors for the top section and three drawers on the bottom. But when Merlin grabbed the handles and pulled it open, he was hit by an avalanche of tumbling objects.

"You prat!"

Arthur kept his eyes on his paperwork, but he was smiling, shoulders softly moving with silent laughs.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

But by Friday things had gotten difficult. The weather had turned for the worse, dropping below freezing with light snow showers, and Arthur couldn't even begin to ignore Merlin's shivering figure when he came in each day. He finally had a pair of gloves, but his coat was much too thin and it hung on his bony shoulders in a way that made Arthur uneasy. And that's why it was a difficult week, because the two of them were getting along, falling into a pattern of banter and insults and arguments that sent the other employees skittering as they duked it out. But then Merlin would start laughing, and Arthur would throw something at him, and they'd get back to work.

Arthur had begun to notice more about the man that was his assistant. The way he played with the neckerchief while listening to instructions. How he bounced his leg to a phantom beat when sitting, and especially the way he worried his plump rose lip between his front teeth. He was attracted to Merlin, and it bothered him to no end. Not because he was a boy, Arthur got over that one when he was eighteen and spent a summer on the coast in Italy. But it was _Merlin_ and that was what Arthur didn't know what to do with. They had fought, they bickered, and Merlin put him in his place when his ego had gotten out of hand. He'd _apologised_ to someone yesterday, hell was freezing over. But Arthur was petty, and there was something about the idea of approaching Merlin that he couldn't stand to think about. Anyways, _Merlin_ spent all his spare time with Gwaine and that infuriated him even more.

The door to his office opened and Merlin walked in, Starbucks in hand,

"Good thing you got lunch already because it's raining outside and I wouldn't have gone all the way to the shop anyways." He said casually, coming in and setting the coffee down. He smiled at Arthur, "Your highness." With that he bowed with a grin and went over to the small coat rack in the corner. Arthur had begrudgingly given him a place to stow his things now that he worked primarily in Arthur's office. At the beginning of the week he thought it would be torture, and sometimes it was frustrating, but overall Merlin was really enjoying working for Arthur. Make no mistakes, the man was still an insufferable git, but he was one that had a very charming smile and a quick and clever sense of humour. Gwen teased him about it, but he was really starting to like the man.

"You finally got a new coat."

"Oh this? No, this is Gwaine's." Merlin blushed. He had had to spend the money from Uther's bonus on catching up with his rent, but he was still about 300 quid behind. But since the heat had gone off again the night before, the landlord wasn't particularly pushing it. Merlin had been so cold by the time he got to work he was nearly in tears with the frustration of all of it. Gwaine had taken one look at him and put the coat around him, pulling him into a tight hug. The two of them flirted endlessly, sharing quiet looks and touches when they were together. But Gwaine had admitted he was waiting for Morgana to get back from France, and Merlin had laughed, consoling him on the fact that he might have possibly fallen in love. Yet, until then, they were there for one another with comforting touches and the occasional close night in front of the telly.

"Of course it is."

"What?"

"Nothing. Go get my paper work from Leon." Arthur turned his chair around to face the window behind him, leaving Merlin standing slightly shell shocked. It wasn't their normal snippy bickering, Arthur had truly sounded angry. Turning around uneasily Merlin headed downstairs, wondering if his meeting with Uther had gone wrong. Arthur on the other hand angrily spun around and tossed down his notebook once Merlin left. Of course, it was Gwaine's jacket. Gwaine who always smiled at Merlin, and opened the door for him and always found every bloody excuse to _touch_ Merlin when he was around. On the hand or the elbow or the shoulder or his back, so of course it was Gwaine's sodding coat.

Merlin returned to find Arthur tapping at his lap top, nearly glaring a hole through the screen. He set the paperwork down and collected the pile of mail from his inbox, heading for the small table at the corner of the office. It looked down on The Strand and Merlin enjoyed watching the people mill about while he did his work. But today it was pouring rain which would occasionally mix with a flurry of snow in the freezing air, and anyone outside was hurrying to their next destination.

"Merlin, stop staring out the window, my mail isn't going to sort itself."

"I'm sorting your precious mail." He snapped. He didn't know why Arthur had his pants twisted in a knot, but it was beginning to frustrate him.

"You know what, I actually want lunch."

"And what would you like today?" He asked with infinite patience.

"Take away, the Chinese place next to Cotswold."

"That's five blocks away."

"Good, you know where it is."

"It's pouring outside."

"Good thing you have a brolly." And that was the end of it. Merlin simply gaped at the man in front of him whose jaw was set in a firm stubborn line.

"Can't you just have it delivered, then I can finish this-"

"I'm hungry now _Mer_lin, take your _coat_ and go." He hissed. Gwaine had collected his coat on his way out a half hour earlier, leaving Merlin with his old one. Looking positively put off Merlin snagged it and marched out the door, heading down to the Strand as snow whipped painfully into his face. It was cold and slippery, the temperature finally dropping low enough that the snow could find purchase on the icy pavement and begin to accumulate. By the time he had gotten to the take away place he had fallen a total of three times and was coated in snow. Looking up at the sign, a dragon that said 'Kilgharrah's Chinese Take-Away,' he hurried inside to the promised warmth. Waiting for them to throw everything into a bag gave the snow just enough time to melt into his clothes and work its icy tentacles into his bones. Grabbing the bag Merlin was forced to put away his umbrella, needing at least one hand to catch himself as he slipped across the street.

"Sodding blighter," He ground out, clutching the bag to his chest as he marched across the lobby forty minutes later, drawing stares and whispers as he squeaked and dripped the whole way. Coming into Arthur's office the passionate anger he had been feeling simply fizzled out, his body too exhausted from the trek and the cold to even bother wasting energy on being mad. Defeated he crossed the threshold and set the bag down on the small table. When Arthur finally looked up he instantly felt terrible. Merlin was carefully taking the food out of a wet take away bag as he dripped all over the floor. Arthur would have usually yelled at him, but he was shaking, almost too hard to get the containers out. His cheeks were a sullen grey and Arthur could see splotches on his trousers from where he must have fallen. Guilt filled his chest, pressing painfully on his heart as Merlin deposited the box of food that he didn't really even want in front of him. Setting the fork and fortune cookie down next to it, Merlin finally turned and started cleaning up the mess he'd made on the table. Arthur was angry at himself, ashamed of his action, it just had started to _hurt_ when he saw Merlin, who was now frozen.

"Why don't you go take a half hour tea break." Arthur offered weakly, "Then you can help Leon for the rest of the day." Looking over Arthur swore Merlin looked hurt, and he wished that the man would just call him a spoiled brat. But he didn't. He snagged the spare fortune cookie off the table, grabbed his stuff and left.

Sighing with frustration Arthur pushed away the food, not even bothering with it. Snatching the fortune cookie off the desk he popped the wrapper and broke it in half, angrily shoving it in his mouth. Unfurling the small strip of paper, he frowned, it said:

_You're like two sides of the same coin._

Merlin on the other hand was shivering, trying to figure out what had prompted the recent turn of events. Sitting down on a chair by the radiator he sniffed, and rubbed his stinging face, trying to think if he had said something wrong. They bickered constantly, but he didn't think he'd said anything at all. With a sigh he opened the wrapper of the extra cookie they had given him. Cracking it open he extracted the piece of paper, pausing as he read it:

_You're like two sides of the same coin_


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: Glad you guys liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one. I promise, things are going to work out soon!

**Chapter 5: Good, going and gone**

Lancelot carefully extracted the bottle of cider from Merlin's hand and set it on the table beside him. Gwen squeezed his thigh in thanks and Gwaine wrapped an arm around the young man. They had heard the tale of the whole fiasco and the man before them, who was at least warm, sniffled and moaned as unhappiness sunk deep in his bones. Gwaine had been furious when heard about what Arthur did because he _knew_ what Arthur sent him out in, and that the man had done it purposefully. The two bickered, he gave them that, yelling and growling at one another to their hearts content. But this time Merlin's safety was at risk and he was probably going to have a bloody flu and he was simply mad at Arthur.

He sighed.

"It'll be okay, just a little sniffle." Merlin commented, rubbing his face. It actually worried him, when he wasn't extremely annoyed, that Arthur was acting like this. Arthur usually wasn't that bad and he wondered if something had gone sour between his father. He had only been working there for two weeks but he had already realised the kind of dynamic that existed between the two and it wasn't particularly healthy.

"You're protecting him." Leon dead panned, staring at Merlin, the little spit fire that dug in his heels when Arthur just asked for a cup of tea, "You must be sick." He reached across and put his wrist to Merlin's head, who smacked it away.

"I'm not sick, I'm tired." He muttered in frustration as Gwaine looked worriedly over at his friend. When Lancelot and Gwen paired off together for the night and Merlin was left on his own, Gwaine carefully slipped an arm around his waist and walked with him to the door of the club. They emerged out into the cold autumnal air that was fresh and crisp against the thick air of the bar. It washed across their features and cooled them as they paused for a moment. It was drizzling softly outside so Gwaine tucked the smaller man against his side as they walked the few blocks to his place. It was closer to central London than Merlin's flat, and it was pretty nice despite his life as a wanderer. Gwaine had managed to accumulate some money, and the small place was better than Merlin's dump so it was simply easier.

When they made it in the door Merlin hung up his coat and followed Gwaine to the bedroom, accustomed to the place that he was spending most of his time. With the heat off it was nearly impossible to live in his apartment but the landlord had said that it would be fixed today, he hoped so at the least. Gwaine waited for him to take off his shoes before he came up behind him. He set his chin on his shoulder and nipped at his ear softly, trailing tender kisses down the pale neck. Merlin gasped softly and turned around, wrapping his arms around Gwaine's neck, running his hand through the soft hair. They looked at one another for a moment and Merlin smiled at him, pressing his lips up to meet Gwaine's. But he realised that there wasn't a spark, the same giddy feeling he had felt with him the first time they met had faded. Not in a bad way, no, but into a soft more mellow and confident way that spoke more of friendship then love. And Gwaine saw that in Merlin's azure eyes, the brief uncertainty and realisation that they really were just friends with benefits, not harbouring some deep seated romantic ideals. It made him feel a bit better, he never wanted to break Merlin's heart but from that first day he couldn't have resisted Merlin, even if he had tried. Yet, Gwaine couldn't help wondering why Merlin had just now realised that he wasn't in love with him. But then Gwaine figured it out as he looked down into Merlin's impossibly bright blue eyes. Merlin wasn't in love with him, he was in love with Arthur.

Looking down at him Gwaine smiled, and Merlin bit his lip and tried not to laugh. But a warm rumble had started deep in Gwaine's chest and before long the two of them were standing together in each others arms, laughing.

"This makes things much more interesting."

"No it doesn't! This isn't funny, I'll just have to quit."

"Well let's not think about it now, I think we should watch EastEnders." With that Merlin groaned, prompting Gwaine to pick him up by the waist.

"Let me down!" He cried, but Gwaine was too strong for him and promptly tossed him onto the bed before kicking off his shoes.

"My place, my telly." Grinning he went over and flopped on the bed, pulling Merlin against him. The raven haired man curled himself against Gwaine's chest and wrapped an arm around his waist. It wasn't his favourite television show but at least he wasn't alone, and at least Gwaine understood. And that was something.

Tuesday morning found Merlin exhausted, plodding down The Strand towards Camelot without the usual pep in his stride. He'd had a large paper due that morning, and had been up since six am making sure that everything was perfect before going through the final steps to turn it in. He'd run all over campus, first to the library, then to the School of Medieval Literature's office, and then back to seminar. Merlin had barely been able to snag a triple espresso at Costa before having to run to work. He'd spent Friday night at Gwaine's, falling asleep as he watched his soap opera and then made them a very class breakfast of beans on toast before they spent the day at the National Gallery, which Gwaine hadn't particularly been interested in, but Merlin was his mate and that was all that matter. Well, that and the fact that he and Merlin shared a huge slice of chocolate cake.

"Why the long face?" Leon asked as Merlin pulled a tired smile and went about his business until the inevitable moment when Arthur came in a couple hours later.

Walking in the man took his obligatory five steps and removed his glasses before finally looked over at Merlin. Gwaine and his mates and rescinded their offer for footie that weekend for what he had done to Merlin, and half of him was ashamed and half of him was annoyed. He'd been raised a Pendragon for gods sake and that meant that he was always right. But when he saw Merlin and his stomach fluttered, he couldn't help but think that maybe they were right for ignoring him. Walking over he sat on the corner of the desk and peered over at Merlin's computer screen. He was about to get up and head for Starbucks, as was his usual routine, but Arthur stopped him.

"Come on, I have endless stacks of mail and reports for you to sort." He stated, heading for the elevator.

"It's broken."

"What?" Merlin was tempted to answer 'You' since he didn't want his usual coffee.

"The elevator."

"Well then call -"

"Already called, they'll be here in a half of an hour." Merlin replied with a smirk, happy to at least be a step ahead of Arthur, who huffed, and headed for the stairs.

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"About Friday."

"What about it?" He attempted to school his expression, but he couldn't help but look put off at the mention of that fiasco.

"I'm, well, I'm sorry about it." Arthur looked uncomfortable, before quickly adding, "We should have just ordered it in." Merlin looked surprised at the apology, then amused at his attempt to lighten the emotional blow of having apologised, and then relieved that the awkwardness could be put behind them.

"Good, you bloody prat, because I think I'm getting sick and it's all _your_ fault."

"My fault!"

"You sent me out in a blizzard."

"You're too stupid to own a jacket. You live in England, or did you not know that?"

"Arse."

"Idiot." This continued on up the rest of the stairs to Arthur's office, where Merlin snatched the paper work off his desk and sat down at his table, looking out the window.

"Can you turn on music?"

"No _Mer_lin."

"Why not?"

"Because this is Camelot and we do not listen to music while we work, peon." Merlin frowned at him and went back to the mail. Then he heard a soft bit of music coming from Arthur's desk. Looking up he saw him looking down intently at his paperwork, refusing to give any sign that he'd actually listened to Merlin as Nessun Dorma streamed from his speakers. A small smile graced Merlin's lips, something soft and subtle as he realised that Arthur actually listened to him when he rambled on about art or music. Merlin went back to work.

Stealing a glance to his right Arthur watched as Merlin's nimble fingers flicked through the various letters and papers. Once in awhile he'd pluck one from the bunch and toss it into the bin near the wall, the rest he'd arrange into piles. As he tossed one towards the bin it fell short and he rose from his seat. Arthur quickly looked down at his paper work, only looking out of the corner of his eye as Merlin bent over and picked up the offending paper, plopping it in. Merlin's trousers some how fit his bony frame just right and Arthur wanted nothing more than for him to remain there forever, but he headed to sit down.

"Merlin!"

"I picked it up!"

"Your bag is on the floor."

"Your powers of observation astound me."

"Go pick it up."

"Why?"

"Because it's distracting me." Merlin turn around, walked to the bag and lifted it up with a dramatic flourish, hanging it next to his coat.

"Your highness." He bowed before rolling his eyes and returning to his seat.

"I'm hungry."

"Well you're the one that told me to help you first."

"Then I'll just order in, what do you want?"

"Wait, you're asking me what I want?" Arthur looked exasperated,

"Were you dropped on your head when you were a child? Yes, I asked what you want, I'll have someone run out and get us a coffee too."

"Us?"

"The size of your ears were obviously put to waste."

"I heard you, you clot pole, I was just amazed is all. Fine, I want a falafel and hummus pita and a venti, caramel soy latte."

"Soy?"

"You asked."

"Fine." Arthur rang one of the interns and demanding their order before hanging up the phone and looking at Merlin, "Wipe down the table, we'll eat there."

"I'm your assistant, not your maid."

"One in the same _Mer_lin, get to it." Merlin shook his head at Arthur's whim and grabbed a cleaning cloth, wiping down the table before the food got there. Merlin settled down at the table with Arthur for an actually enjoyable conversation,

"So where do you come from? Some little village that was close to school?" Merlin was slightly taken back by the question, Arthur had never taken any interest in his personal life before.

"Yes, actually, it's called Ealdor. I took the bus to school every morning." He replied as Arthur made a face at the mention of their old schooling days, Merlin stole one of his crisps with a smile, "Lived there with my Mum and then I moved down here for Uni."

"Big move."

"I got a bit of help." He didn't offer anymore, and Arthur didn't ask, assuming that he had some rich eccentric uncle or something, because didn't everyone have a rich relative?

"What are you reading?"

"Medieval Literature and I'm working on Museum Studies as well, I'm trying to get a position at the British Museum perhaps, they do a lot of conservation work and I'd like to be able to work with manuscripts." He rambled as Arthur smiled at his obvious enthusiasm, before realising he shouldn't be smiling at anything Merlin said, and resumed looking sullen.

"So that's all you want to do with your life? Stare at old pieces of paper."

"No. I also plan on restoring said 'old pieces of paper' and meeting the man of my dreams, and settling down as I become famous for my manuscript restorations."

"Sounds...exciting." Arthur tried to keep his voice from wavering. So Merlin hadn't met the man of his dreams? He didn't know if that a good thing, if Gwaine obviously wasn't the one, or if Merlin saw nothing in Arthur. He frowned slightly, was Merlin flirting with him?

"And this is any better?" He asked, looking around the office with a raised eyebrow.

"This is a coveted position _Mer_lin! One of the best in all of London and I make more money than God, leave it to you to think this is some how inadequate..."

"But is it really what you want?" Arthur stopped, his eyebrows furrowing as he took a sip of his coffee to waste time. People never asked him what he wanted. From as long as he could remember it was just assumed that he would follow his fathers footsteps, because really, what else would he do? Turn down one of the top positions he would ever have the chance to occupy? But when he really thought about it, there were other things that he could imagine himself doing that he might enjoy more. He'd always loved architecture, he sputtered for a moment before answering.

"It's just fine."

"But that's not the question," Merlin smiled knowingly, "Sometimes you just have to take a risk for something you love, and hope it works out all right. That's what I'm doing, taking a leap of faith for better things and just hoping I'll land on my feet. But I think I will." He met Arthur's eyes, his smile but a soft upturn of his lips that made Arthur's chest ache and Merlin's heart race. Reaching out Merlin squeezed his hand softly, sending what felt like an electrical shock through Arthur's body and then he pulled away and picked up his coffee. It left Arthur stunned.

"Well you probably won't, you can't barely land on your feet going down the steps." Arthur muttered, toying with the wrapper of his sandwich before taking a large bite. Merlin's insight shook him slightly.

"Will you go get some water?" Arthur asked as Merlin nodded, shoving far too large of a bite in his mouth before skipping off, leaving Arthur to think. _Sometimes you just have to take a risk for something you love..._he thought, wiping his hands on a napkin slowly. Getting up he followed Merlin, going down the steps after him and to the kitchen. But when he got to the door, he saw Merlin and Gwaine standing next to each other. He stopped, pressing himself back against the door where he couldn't be seen and listened.

"You left this in my apartment on Friday." Gwaine said, holding up a shirt of Merlin's before ruffling his hair, "I'm going to have a collection if you keep doing that."

"I might as well just move in at this point." Merlin joked, but Arthur didn't find the humour, instead thinking that the two men were serious. And Merlin had the gall to flirt with him! _How dare he_, Arthur thought with anger as Gwaine pulled him into a hug.

"Any better today?" Gwaine asked, moving his head, gesturing towards Arthur's office slightly.

"Yes? No...maybe? It still hurts..."

Arthur looked aghast, he didn't need to know about the aftermath of their tryst. Fuming with anger he turned on his heel and stormed back up the stairs to his office, hurt. It never occurred to him that he really had no right to be, but he had been raised with the mentality that if he liked something it was his. Merlin was a human however, and just because Arthur liked him didn't mean he was automatically Arthur's, that usually required some sort of conversation, something Arthur had never attempted due to his stubbornness.

"You know my friend, if Arthur can't realise what he's got with you then he doesn't deserve you." Gwaine said as he looked down at the younger man.

"I think it's getting better actually," Merlin commented, "Arthur ordered lunch for us, and coffee."

"And coffee?"

"Yes, my point exactly, maybe we really can get somewhere. I should get him his water, " A roll of the eyes, but blushing ever so slightly, "But thank you, it is better and perhaps he might even thank me for something by the end of the week." With a mischievous grin he grabbed the glass of water and headed back up the stairs, surprised to see Arthur at his desk.

"Your water your highness." He set it in front of him with a smile as Arthur grumbled,

"Clean up this mess." He swept his hand towards the table where they'd been eating, not looking up at Merlin who was clearly confused once again at Arthur's mood swings.

"Okay..." Grabbing the trash he tossed it in the bin with a clunk.

"_Mer_lin! I'm trying to concentrate."

"Well two minutes ago you were taking your lunch break, I don't know what you're doing now." He snapped.

"It's called work, you wouldn't know much about it." Gesturing at the pile of letters that Merlin hadn't finished,

"I was working on it until _you_ demanded that we have lunch. What is your problem?"

"My problem? My problem is you hanging all over Gwaine. You can't go that long without being on top of him?" Arthur bit out angrily, not thinking far enough ahead to stop his mouth.

"Gwaine? What about Gwaine?" Merlin said nervously, wondering if Arthur had heard his conversation.

"Yes Gwaine, I heard your little conversation, it's sickening." He said, remembering how Merlin left his clothes at Gwaine's house, and how he was still _sore_. Jealousy curled through his chest and pushed out angry words as Merlin stood shocked. His mind was reeling, not only had Arthur heard his conversation about how he fancied him, he thought it was disgusting. It made him want to crumble and fade away into the carpet.

"Arthur I'm sorry, I-"

"Go, go clean out my cabinet, all the files from last year need to be taken to the basement."

"I'm-" But Arthur put up a hand, silencing him before looking back down at his work, trying to ignore the slight tremble in his hand as Merlin turned and went to collect a box. The hurt and jealousy he felt manifested into vindictive anger. The things he felt for Merlin were more than any of the stupid one night stands he'd had, and the object of his desires wanted someone that wasn't him. He'd bought him lunch and coffee, and Merlin had even touched his hand! And not five minutes later he was with Gwaine. Arthur was furious.

When Merlin returned with a box that he promptly began to fill with paperwork, he stole glances towards Arthur. His jaw was stiff, making the veins on his fist appear more prominent. Blue eyes scanned the page, but Merlin knew that he was thinking and that anything he saw was simply passing through his vision unnoticed. How had things gone wrong so quickly? It was a curse, as far as he was concerned. Once the box was loaded with files neatly collated and organised, he stood, Arthur's eyes following him.

"Done?"

"Yes."

"Take it to the basement." But when Merlin tried to lift the box he found himself unable to do so without nearly losing his balance and crashing into the table.

"Arthur it's too heavy, the elevator is broken. Can I asked Leon to -"

"_Mer_lin, you are such a girl." Arthur got up and walked over, heaving the heavy box to his chest with muscles well toned with physical activity. Merlin on the other hand was more active in carrying books to and from the library, and was simply not up to par with the blonde's strength.

"Fine." Merlin hissed, grabbing the box by its end and dragging it out the door towards the stairway. By the time he had gotten there, propped the door open and dragged the box onto the fifth floor landing, he evaluated his options - all the while cursing Arthur for being such an arse. Sliding and pulling it down the first set of stairs proved difficult, and Merlin was about to ask Gwaine for help when he heard the door open above him. Looking up he found Arthur framed in the door, arms crossed.

"I don't have all day."

"Neither do I, it'd go faster if you helped."

"It's your job."

"And you're an idiot." Merlin replied angrily as he yanked the box up into arms, limbs trembling from the effort as he leaned against the wall and headed down the next flight. As he disappeared around the corner from Arthur's view, the man felt a swell of satisfaction in his chest. It was short lived however, because a moment later Arthur heard Merlin cry out in surprise,

"Arthur!" And then he heard a crash as the box hit the floor and scattered across the stairs, and the sounds of Merlin's angular body following suit. His heart hammered painfully against his chest before he found the will to move and ran after him,

"Merlin!"


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note: You're still with me? Great! I promise, it's going to get better from here...I swear. And, your reviews mean SO much to me everyone, just so you know. All the favourite alerts and comments and everything - just amazing.

**Chapter 6: Just say what you mean**

"Merlin!" Arthur's heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he thundered down the stairs. He grabbed the rail, nearly slipping on the papers that were spread across the floor as he swung around the corner and down the next set. Kicking the box off to the side he made it down one more flight before finding Merlin on his side on the second floor landing. His breath hitched painfully in his chest and he felt sick when he stopped, unsure of what to do next. He didn't know if he was supposed to move him or help him, or what how he was supposed to handle an injury like this. Merlin looked so fragile all of a sudden and it terrified him. Kneeling down by Merlin's head he felt his cheek softly and closed his eyes in relief when he felt Merlin breathing.

"That's good, okay Merlin, that's good. See, you can do one thing right, now you should just open your eyes okay?" He tried his best to taunt him but Merlin didn't move and visions of paralysis and internal injuries flooded Arthur's mind as he fought to breath.

"Merlin, damnit, Merlin please open your eyes." Arthur grabbed his hand, rubbing and squeezing it in fear of jostling any other part of his body, "For me? Just, I'm really sorry about what I said and I'll play music all the time in the office if you just open your eyes." He could hear someone thundering up the stairs, but he didn't feel anything as Gwaine came into view.

"What happened!" He ran over to Merlin's other side, taking in the pale figure before him. Merlin was a strong man, but he was also thin and cement steps were unforgiving.

"He fell down the steps."

"Doing what?" Gwaine demanded, quickly checking his pulse and looking at his neck carefully.

"It doesn't matter what!" Arthur snapped, rubbing Merlin's hand nervously, "Should we call the paramedics?" Gwaine bit his lip,

"I would, if he's hurt his back then we can't just move him and hope it's okay." Gwaine looked up at Arthur and felt sympathy for the man. He had an idea that Arthur had something to do with the fact that Merlin was laying broken on a flight of stairs but he couldn't bring himself to harass the man. Arthur looked terrified, pale and drawn as he stroked Merlin's hand with an unconscious need for some kind of comfort. They could talk about this later, right now Merlin was what mattered.

"Ar..." Merlin whimpered as both men's eyes snapped down to him, "Arth...ur."

"Merlin!" Arthur crouched even lower and tilted his head to see Merlin's face. The young man tried to roll over but Gwaine's hand caught his shoulder,

"Easy there mate, don't move, we're going to call the paramedics."

"No." He moaned, blinking.

"_Mer_lin, you've just crashed down three flights of stairs, who knows what you've broken."

"No, please, I've fallen down a lot of stairs in my life," He tried to smile but the pain forced it into a frown, "My back feels fine, it's just my ankle. Oh god, my ankle." He groaned and finally managed to roll onto his back with a pained gasp, having come to his senses enough to realise how badly it was hurting. Gwaine moved down to look at his leg as Arthur raised a shaky hand to Merlin's face, pushing the hair off his forehead, Merlin winced,

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really, it just hurts a bit." He was taking in deep breathes, pushing them out in shuddering gasps.

"I think you're right Merlin, looks like you've broken it."

"I'm sorry Merlin, God you scared me, I just..." He rambled as Merlin looked at his face,

"Arthur please just shut up and take me somewhere that can make the pain stop."

"Hospital, right, I'll take you myself. Father hates the paramedics being here." Gwaine stopped and glared at Arthur,

"It's his safety and comfort Arthur. This has nothing to do with your father."

"No, really I don't want paramedics just, I'm fine. Just help me get up and I can see if Lancelot can drive me to the hospital..."

"No! Merlin you nearly broke your neck falling down stairs! I'll take you myself."

"Arthur you drive a Porsche."

"And?"

"You can't put him in that comfortably, his leg needs to stay up. I'll borrow Percival's Scirocco, at least it has a back seat. Just stay here with him while I bring it around back." Gwaine squeezed Merlin's hand before bounding off down the steps.

"I quit."

"What?"

"If I'm going to nearly die every week I quit, I want to live to see my twenty third birthday."

"I can't believe you're joking right now."

"What else am I supposed to do." He offered Arthur a pained smile before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Please don't quit..."

"After the show you gave I didn't think you would really care."

"Merlin, I, I was just -" But he was interrupted as Lancelot, Percival and Leon ran up the stairs.

"Merlin!"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?" They seemed to shout all at once, making Merlin wince, and Arthur snap,

"His head hurts, lower your voice!"

"You too you prat." Merlin muttered, turning his head gingerly to look at the three, "Yeah, just sunshines and rainbows mate."

"Gwaine went to get the car, we came up to help you."

"No, just help me stand up and I can lean on the rail."

"Like hell you will." Arthur stated, and before Merlin could even protest Arthur had put an arm under his back and under his knees and lifted him up. Merlin let out a very manly squeak.

"What are you doing!"

"I'm carrying you, you idiot."

"Arthur, be careful." Lancelot cautioned as Leon and Percival headed down the next flight to make sure the doors were open.

"I wasn't planning on dropping him or anything." Arthur turned to carry him sideways down the stairs, but Lancelot had to lunge forward and stop him before he swung Merlin's foot into the wall.

"I'm going to die." Merlin lamented, his face bright red as he tried to burrow it into Arthur's chest. He would have given anything to be this close to Arthur, in his warm and powerful arms. But at the moment he thought he'd rather die.

"Stop being such a girl, _Mer_lin. I've got you." Arthur nodded very subtly in thanks to Lancelot's quick moves before heading down the steps. They went as quickly through the halls as possible, trying to spare Merlin the embarrassment he was feeling as people stared and whispered. Gwaine was waiting out back, the front door open as all four of them managed to get Merlin into the backseat with relative jostling.

"If I knew that all I had to do was break your ankle to get you into my backseat, I'd have pushed you down some stairs a lot sooner." Gwaine joked before Lancelot cuffed him in the back of the head. Arthur hadn't even heard the comment, he had stepped back and watched with a blank expression as Leon carefully closed the door.

"I'll meet you at the A&E, I'll call ahead for us." Arthur murmured, going back inside to get his car keys. Gwaine shook his head, thanked the three men and got in.

"You okay back there?" He asked, looking in the rearview mirror, starting up the engine.

"Yeah, just perfect." Gwaine chuckled, at least he knew his friend was okay if he still had his bite. Putting the car into gear he sped off down the small backstreet towards the hospital as Merlin closed his eyes, putting a hand on his face.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell happened?"

"I fell down the stairs."

"That part was obvious when I saw you laying there looking dead. You know how many years you've taken off my life the last few weeks?"

"Good thing you love me."

"What did the princess do." Merlin sighed, his voice was shaky and Gwaine looked back in the mirror to see Merlin rubbing his eyes.

"It's a mess Gwaine. It's just a mess."

"Merlin, it's okay, what's wrong? Nothing we can't fix, you've got me."

"He heard our conversation, he told me it was disgusting."

"He heard the whole thing?"

"When I came back upstairs he said it didn't belong at work, that he was sickened by it and then demanded that I clean out his entire file cabinet. I couldn't barely pick up the stupid box since it was so bloody heavy, but he was mocking me so I picked it up and promptly met the stairs."

"I'll kill him."

"Not right now Gwaine," Merlin sounded so tired, "I just, I don't even get it. One minute we're eating lunch, I was touching his hand! And then he's furious, and then he's apologising for almost killing me."

Gwaine didn't have a response for his friend, this wasn't his really his area. Normally Gwen would take care of the emotions part, and then he'd take him to the pub and get him enough alcohol to forget that he even had emotions. But with his friend laying in the backseat with a broken ankle, he didn't think he could really do either of those things.

"Don't fall asleep back there."

"Why."

"Because you hit your head, and if you fall asleep and go into a coma or something..."

"That's just a myth."

"Still, just don't do it, okay mate?" The rest of the drive was quiet, Gwaine pulling into the A&E behind Arthur's ostentatiously red Porsche. A nurse was already there with a wheel chair and with the help of both men they transferred a rather moody Merlin into the chair and into the hospital. The nurse stopped both of them as a doctor saw Merlin into a private room, arranged by Arthur, and shooed them into a small empty room. Arthur immediately began pacing, flexing his fist as he stared meaningfully at the pastel coloured furniture.

"What the hell is your problem Arthur, you bloody prick." Arthur whirled around and faced Gwaine.

"What are you going on about."

"Merlin told me what happened. I put up with your mood swings before, because you know, deep down you're actually not that much of an arse. But what do you think you're doing with Merlin?"

"Me? Doing _what _with Merlin? You're the one whose fucking him!" He shouted, the anger that had subsided in the waves of fear and concern when Merlin fell, had once again emerged.

"Fucking him? Are you mental?"

"Don't lie to me Gwaine, I heard your little chat in the kitchen. How he left his clothes at your place, and is still hurting." Arthur's face was red, his fist was squeezed tight, knuckles white.

"You are a blithering idiot! I'm not sleeping with Merlin, he's been staying at my flat because the heat is broken in his shit apartment and he's likely to freeze to death if he stays there." Gwaine's voice was slowly beginning to rise. He usually didn't get mad, but when he did, it started out slow and began to burn hot, "And he's not hurting because of anything I did to him, he's hurting because you're treating him like shit!" Arthur advanced, and for a moment Gwaine thought he was going to hit him, but he stopped, shaking.

"I haven't done anything wrong!" He yelled, but Gwaine knew he was only trying to convince himself. Arthur was beginning to realise this as well, "I, he's incompetent, I can't deal with his back talk."

"And that's why you give it as good as you get? And smile?"

"Shut up Gwaine."

"No! I'm at the bloody hospital because my best friend fell down a flight of stairs because you taunted him."

"Best friend?"

"That's all you got out of this conversation so far? You are an idiot Arthur, he is my best friend! I'm not sleeping with him, I'm not wooing him, I'm not doing _anything_ with him but being a friend because he needs one with your god damned antics."

"But you are constantly touching him!"

"And you seem to have the habit of constantly getting him injured!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen."

"You might as well have pushed him yourself, he's a resilient guy but you know he's not as bulky as you, you knew how hard it was for him to carry that. And down a flight of stairs no less?"

"I didn't want him to fall."

"And he did, and now he's in the hospital with a broken ankle and god knows what else. He could have broken his back Arthur! And all for a stupid little feud you're..." But Gwaine stopped, looking at Arthur who was breathing hard through his nose, jaw clenched tight and eyes rimmed red. "You're in love with him aren't you. That's why you're so mad that I spend so much time with him."

"I'm nothing of the sort."

"And this is how you plan to win him over? Getting him knocked down a flight of stairs?"

"Shut it Gwaine."

"Fuck you Arthur. You know how many times I've had to try and console him over you? Over your bloody little spats and whims? You're breaking his heart with your idiotic little mood swings and I'd be surprised if he still even cares at this point."

"Cares?"

"He's in love with you Arthur! That's why he was so 'hurt' when we were talking today. He's hurt over _you_, and what you've been putting him through." Arthur stood, shocked as nurse hesitantly knocked on door frame of the waiting room,

"You can see him now." She nearly whispered, as Gwaine nodded and gave the nervous girl a smile,

"Thank you." She scurried off as Gwaine turned back to Arthur, "Sort out your bloody priorities. I'm not going to watch you do this to him everyday, I've had enough." With that he turned and strode off to go find Merlin.

When he heard the click of the door, Merlin looked up, seeing Gwaine smiling at him. Everything had happened so fast, he'd been whisked in for an x-ray and promptly tucked into a comfortable bed.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, coming over and perching himself on the edge of the bed.

"Wonderful, really, snapped part of my ankle nearly clean in half."

"Didn't break your spirit now did it."

"Oh thank God." He rolled his eyes and wriggled a bit, "Bollocks..." Gwaine hugged him, pressing him against his chest awkwardly and putting his cheek to the top of his head.

"Arthur thought we were more _involved_. That's why he was angry, he thought we had been sleeping together and that's what he thought was sickening, not that you loving him was sickening."

"He knows?" Merlin asked, trying to get out of Gwaine's grip to look at the man, but he was held tight.

"Well maybe he won't push you down a flight of stairs now."

"He didn't push me!"

"Might as well of."

"Please just kill me now."

"Nope, I think you're going to make it mate." He rubbed soothing circles on Merlin's back, cuddling him close in his over affectionate manner, "I think that you two are going to have to talk about your _mutual_ feelings."

"He likes me too?" Merlin cried, beating on Gwaine to get more information.

Arthur was pacing in the waiting room still, guilt tearing up his insides. He felt _stupid_, and Pendragon's weren't supposed to feel stupid, and that made him feel all the more confused about the wealth of emotions that Merlin's presence had subjected him too. All his anger had been directed at Merlin for absolutely nothing. There were no grounds for his jealousy, just a grossly misunderstood relationship and an over active imagination that did not bode well when combined with his temper. And now that Gwaine knew he'd have no excuse to avoid it any longer. Carding his fingers through his blonde hair he stopped, dragging the hand down his face. He was still in his business suit and he knew he must look exhausted. Taking a deep breath he walked down the hall and peered into the room where a doctor was standing by Merlin, wrapping his ankle in a purple plaster cast.

"That's a hideous colour."

"Do you ever shut your mouth?"

"Hey! I'm the one with the broken ankle, if you two are going to bicker get out." But the boys really weren't ready to be quiet so they both left, leaving a relieved looking doctor to tend to Merlin in silence.

"I'm taking him home. The medicine they gave him is probably going to make him a bit woozy, so he'll need some help. Anyways, he's going to have to be off his ankle a few days."

"I'll do it, I'll stay with him."

"Why."

"Because I-"

"Are finally attempting to be a human?"

"Damnit Gwaine, I care okay and I've been-"

"A complete idiot."

"Shut up! I want to make up for it, okay? I cocked it all up and I just want to fix it."

"It takes a lot of work Arthur, Merlin's a human, you can't just pay him off for it to get better, or expect him to be gone the next morning like on of your one night stands."

"I know!"

"You don't know anything about him."

"I want to change that." The two argued back and forth like this for quite awhile, not even noticing as the doctor left the room behind them. Even though Gwaine knew that Merlin wanted Arthur more than anything else, he couldn't help but act on his overprotective nature. Merlin had become his closest friend, something he hadn't really had with all his travelling. And he didn't want to see Arthur muck it all up because of his pride and bullheadedness.

"You know what I would like?" Merlin muttered in a slow, slightly slurred voice, "For both of you to stop arguing." He nearly stepped on Arthur's foot with his crutch as he pushed between them, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Arthur asked, reaching out to stop him.

"I'm going home." He muttered, hobbling weakly down the hall. Merlin was slightly uneven on his feet and Arthur and Gwaine wordlessly came up to either side of him, replacing his crutches for their shoulders.

By the time they made it to Merlin's flat the young man was completely out, the drugs overwhelming his small frame. He was curled up sadly in the backseat when Gwaine finally parked and opened the front door, scooting the seat forward to reach him. Arthur looked about the dimly lit street, horrified at the idea of leaving his Porsche in this kind of neighbourhood.

"I know it's not Mayfair Princess, but I need help, he's out cold." Arthur came over to the drivers side door and looked in at the young man laying on the seat.

"There's no way in hell we're going to get him out of the front doors, open the boot." And with a large amount of manoeuvring, they managed to get the back seats down flat and move Merlin that way. Arthur was surprised at how nearly all of the scruffy looking characters on the street disregarded what looked like the disposal of a dead body as Merlin lay motionless in the boot.

"Here." Gwaine tossed a set of keys to him, "Get the door, third floor second door on the left." He said as Arthur grabbed Merlin's things and Gwaine carefully lifted him up, letting his head fall to his chest as Arthur shut the car up and went to get the doors. When he opened the door to the flat he was enveloped by a cold shock of air as he reached blindly for a light switch. Gwaine cursed,

"If that bastard didn't get the heat fixed." He muttered as he carried Merlin through the darkness to his bed with ease. Arthur's eyes were attempting to adjust when a lamp flickered to life in front of him. The room was appalling small, Arthur thought, making the whole thing out to be a bit smaller than his office. It was essentially a square with a minuscule kitchen directly to his left, with what he presumed to be the door to the bathroom the only other thing on the left side. The bed, which he soon realised was simply a mattress on the floor occupied the left corner, a desk faced out towards the single window in the apartment, and two book shelves and a worn easy chair made up the right side of the room. While it wasn't nearly as organised as it could be it, the flat wasn't dirty, it was simply too small to fit the mass amount of books and papers the man had.

"See if the radiators working?" Gwaine asked as he worked on getting Merlin's shoe off. Arthur nodded to himself and went to look at the beast of an appliance. He fiddled with the nob, finally beginning to feel how cold it was in the flat. The radiator clunked and hissed and creaked, but he could hear the water going in and knew that it would soon be warming up. Gwaine had decided to leave him in his clothes, taking off his belt to make it a bit more comfortable, and tucking a large duvet around him.

"How does he live in this place?"

"Not everyone has a choice Arthur." Gwaine sighed, going into the small kitchen and grabbing a glass out of the cupboard for some water. Arthur took that time to look around the small apartment. It wasn't that Arthur couldn't deal with it really, but living in something like this everyday... His temper was beginning to flourish again as he wondered why Merlin didn't tell him he was having money problems. He would have found a way to raise his pay or get him more hours, he could do any of those things if Merlin had just asked him. He stood awkwardly in the centre of the small room, wondering what to do.

"I'll, come back in the morning before work. Make sure he's got everything." He said slowly. He'd never taken care of someone before.

"Don't bother, I'm staying here tonight with him."

"Where are you going to sleep." Arthur looked around for some available floor space large enough for Gwaine.

"In his bed, what do you think? It's freezing in here and the damned heat will probably go out again."

"You can't sleep in his bed!"

"Honestly, after all of this Arthur, I don't think you have a right to tell me what I can and cannot do with him. And didn't we already go over him and I, before?" Gwaine glared at his friend as Arthur's tanned face turned somewhat red.

"It's not my fault that you two acted like that."

"Yes, but you're a grown adult who should know better than to jump to conclusions."

"I'm trying Gwaine, I'm here aren't I?" Gwaine looked about ready to punch his friend, moving forward, fist clenched. Arthur stepped back, muscles tensing as his body readied itself to deflect. But the blow never came and Gwaine threw up his hands, turned a circle and looked back on Arthur.

"I'd punch you if Merlin wouldn't get upset when he found out. You keep saying it's not your fault, well it is, you're the one who treated him like dirt, you sent him out in a fucking blizzard and you made him carry a box that weighs more than him down a flight of narrow steps. You didn't push him but you might as well have just kicked him down the stairs." Arthur stepped forward and Gwaine held his arms open with as shrug. "Punch me then. But it's the truth, and if you can't deal with it then just walk out Arthur. Merlin is my best friend and I don't give a shit if you love him and he loves you. If you're going to be bastard about it then don't bother. When you take responsibility for your actions, everything you've done, then you can bother, but until then do him a favour and just stop. I think he'd be better off if you just stopped instead of yanking him back and forth."

Arthur watched as Gwaine grew flushed, passionate about the welfare for his friend and he thought that maybe one day he could be that protective over Merlin - for his benefit. Looking over at Merlin he watched as the duvet moved softly over his chest with his slow and even breath. His angular face caught a bit of the light on his cheek bones, and he looked ethereal in his pale skin and dark shock of hair. He looked down,

"I'll figure myself out." He said quietly, nothing more than a whisper as he headed for the door.

"I hope you do, for both of your sake's."


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Note: Hello! Your reviews are keeping me going! I tell you, once again, how much it means to me to get the story alert, and favourite and comment emails. Small chapter, sorry, I'm going to Scotland for a few days starting Friday so I probably won't post until Wednesday/Thursday next week but I'll see what I can do!

Chapter 7: Crimson and Gold

When Merlin awoke from what felt like a drug induced coma he could make out the sound of someone talking quietly. Rubbing his eyes he sat up, yelping as pain shot through his ankle and up his leg.

"Woah mate, don't move, your pills are around here somewhere." Gwaine said, digging around the clutter of the desk.

"Gwaine you're hopeless they're over here." Gwen sighed, snagging a couple pills from the bottle and bringing them over to Merlin with some water. His eyes were watering and she smiled sympathetically at him as he gladly gulped them down.

"When did you get here?" He asked while he pushed himself up into a sitting position, Merlin glared at his cast.

"About fifteen minutes ago. I know, you don't like people being here but it's not like you can go anywhere else right now. How are you feeling?" Merlin shrugged in response, rubbing his face because he really didn't know what to answer.

"Mate, I'm going to go find that cafe and bring up something to eat. When is the last time you went grocery shopping?"

"Uh."

"Merlin!" Gwen chastised, worried about her friend. She knew that he sent what he could back to his mother and that more often than not he'd simply forget to go shopping then neglect to eat.

"I know, Gwen really I know, I'll get some stuff from Tesco I'm just busy right now. It's getting towards the end of term and I've a lot of things to do." His voice wavered and Gwaine took this as his cue to leave, snagging the keys before closing the door softly behind him.

"You can ask people for help Merlin."

"I don't need help."

"There's nothing wrong with needing help."

"I never said there was." He sighed, his head was starting to hurt on top of everything else, "I'll get back to work on Tuesday and we get paid this week so I'll go then."

"Merlin you can't go back to work next week, you're going to be doing enough just getting to campus, which you really shouldn't do either, you can't add work on top of that."

"Gwen what else am I supposed to do?"

"Leon said that Arthur gave you a two week sick leave."

"Two weeks?"

"Yes, Leon said he felt horrible about what happened."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to see me." Merlin worried his lip between his teeth, wondering if Gwaine was mistaken about how Arthur felt for him.

"Merlin," she squeezes his hand, "I think you two have an awful lot to work out but I'm sure he wants to see you."

"I don't know."

"I'm surprised you don't, you should see the looks he gives you sometimes."

"Gwen!"

"It's true."

"Am I the only one who didn't know about this little dynamic between us?" He groaned unhappily,

"No, I'm pretty sure that Arthur didn't know about it either."

"I know I shouldn't have listened to you about getting this job."

"You'll thank me one day." They sat and talked for a while, during that time Merlin checked out his cast, finding very quickly that he couldn't bear any weight on it. Looking frustrated he sat back down on the bed. He spent most of his time outside the flat, for obvious reasons, and now it felt like he was going to be cooped up. But Gwen soothed his worries, and they talked about Arthur until Gwaine finally made it back. He was holding a bag and a carrier with three coffees,

"Look who I found on my way up." He walked through the door, revealing a man holding two boxes, his shirt tag read 'Sainsbury'. Merlin looked at Gwaine quizzically.

"Delivery for a Mr. Merlin Emrys?" The man asked, setting down two crates of bags and handing Gwaine a sheet of paper.

"It's from the Princess!"

"I don't want this from Arthur!" Merlin was blushing furiously as he attempted to stand up, but Gwen pushed him down softly.

"Merlin, just take it, okay?" He looked unhappy, ashamed but quiet as he simply nodded. Gwen got up and helped Gwaine unload the groceries, as the man went downstairs and brought up three more crates while Merlin just stared incredulously as they unloaded the food into his small kitchen. By the time they were done it filled the cabinets and the fridge, Gwaine was grinning like an idiot.

"I'll make breakfast!" Gwen offered, then looked at the package of bacon.

"He bought me bacon?" Merlin made a face,

"Merlin, I promise to eat any meat that he gave you so you don't have to suffer the moral implications of keeping it around."

"Thank you Gwaine, selfless as always." Merlin rolled his eyes as he came over with the coffee, sitting down next to him on the bed. He took the coffee gratefully as Gwaine wrapped a strong arm around his shoulders, pulling him against his side. A knock came from the door.

"I've got it." Gwen put down the bowl she was using and went to the door,

"Hello!" Lancelot grinned from the doorway, pulling Gwen forward a bit to kiss her cheek as he came in, followed by Leon and Percival. Merlin looked horrified at the idea of them being in his dingy flat but they were all smiles,

"Merlin!"

"You're alive."

"How are you feeling?"

"Everyone was worried." Gwaine got up and greeted the three of them. Merlin couldn't even stay bothered, he smiled brightly at them.

"I'll be fine, you came all the way out here to see how I was?"

"Of course." Lancelot smiled at him as Leon and Percival looked in on Gwen, who shooed them out, saying she would make breakfast for everyone. And within twenty minutes they were all seated around the apartment, eating breakfast and chatting while Merlin quietly smiled from his bed.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Arthur spent the following week nervous and irritable, snapping at the secretary that filled in for Merlin while he was recovering. The woman was hopeless, fawning over Arthur and giving him _those_ kind of looks. Once upon a time he would have been more than happy to oblige, but not when Merlin was on his mind. He heard the door open.

"Don't look so excited to see me."

"Have you ever learned to knock Morgana?"

"I get no where with knocking most of the time, brother dearest."

"Only by law, I don't want people thinking I'm related to you."

"I'm too pretty to have been related to you anyways." She huffed, lowering herself into his leather armchair. "I've heard you've been positively horrible while I've been away."

"Hm."

"Abusing some poor boy that got to babysit you as a reward for saving your sorry arse."

"Morgana, shouldn't you be in France until the beginning of December." He ground his teeth, sitting on the edge of the desk and rubbing his face. Morgana rubbed her hands down her trousers, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles before inspecting the toe of her heel.

"I'm back for the weekend, Eurostar Monday morning, so don't fret too much. But I did talk to Gwaine..."

"No, just go back to your boy toy and leave me be." Arthur got up and walked around the side of the desk, sitting down heavily and looking at his paperwork. But he couldn't focus on it.

"Can't concentrate?"

"Morgana."

"I'm just trying to be nice." She smiled, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.

"No, I can't concentrate because of the fact that you're in my office when you should be off doing something more important."

"Gwaine's working until 6, or I would be doing something more important." She grinned.

"Morgana," he groaned, "Just leave."

"You look tired too, when's the last time you ate?"

"I didn't get a lot of sleep, and I had...dinner." He paused, realising he hadn't had breakfast, he usually ate when Merlin brought him his afternoon sandwich and coffee.

"Can't concentrate, not sleeping and haven't eaten. Arthur, Gwaine was right."

"What are you going on about."

"You're in love."

"I am not!"

"He sounds cute though."

"What do you know about Merlin!"

"Oh so that's his name." Arthur threw up his hands, realising he'd been had.

"Yes, his name is Merlin, he's my personal assistant."

"That you nearly killed, a few times."

"It wasn't a few times."

"Anyways, where is the mystery boy?"

"He's at home, he fell, on Thursday..." Looking down at his paperwork Arthur rubbed his hands together softly and Morgana leaned forward. Her look softened as she reached out and took his hand,

"Come on, we'll take tea at the Savoy and you can tell me all about it."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

It had been a long week and Merlin felt like he was going crazy. The pain in his ankle had gotten much better, and he was able to walk with the crutches without too many incidents. The break had turned out to be a small blessing, allowing him to finish his term papers before the winter holidays but he had begun to realise that he missed Arthur.

He murmured, "The stupid prat," before hobbling to the kitchen and getting something to eat. It had taken him awhile, but he had finally sent Arthur a thank you for the groceries, swallowing his pride for the sake of sustenance. He hadn't heard back. Reaching into his cabinet he brought out a Weetabix box and dumped some of the crispies into a bowl before snagging his carton of Soya to finish it off. Merlin yawned and wriggled up onto the small amount of counter space he had available and dug into the bowl of cereal. He had a lecture in two hours and he was in no hurry, but he was interrupted from his brief moment of relaxation by a knock on the door. Merlin was weary, he didn't live in a horrible part of town but he was unaccustomed to anything good coming from an unannounced knock on the door. He set his bowl aside and carefully clambered down from the counter, grabbing his crutches and heading for the door.

Waiting a moment, he grasped the handle and opened it to peer out carefully, "Oh." Merlin tilted his head, looking at the man holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Merlin Emrys?"

"Yes..." Hesitating for a moment Merlin then opened the door all of the way as the man pushed forward a vase full of red roses. A flush crept over his cheeks and up to his ears as he reached out unsteadily for them before the man pulled them back,

"I'll put them down for you." He stated upon seeing Merlin's cast and occupied hands, "Is the counter okay?"

"That's fine thank you."

"Cheers." The man replied, giving him a slight wave before stepping out and heading down the hall. Closing the door Merlin walked over to the vase and reached out tentatively to feel the smooth petals of the roses. "They're beautiful," he whispered to no one in particular, noting how the deep crimson flowers were framed by a golden ribbon around the neck of the vase; a card hung from the bow. Pulling on the ribbon he freed the card and his eyes widened when he saw the unmistakable handwriting on the front, _Merlin_. With bated breath he pulled out a small white card that said simple, _Meet me at the Savoy at 10am tomorrow, xArthur._

Merlin's breath caught in his throat. The Savoy, with Arthur? His heart was pounding and he felt a tumbling mix of affection and nervousness in his stomach. But a moment later he smiled,

"Figures the prat would assume I have nothing better to do." But he didn't, so he went.


	8. Chapter 8

Authors Note: Hello! Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I got back in yesterday morning and I was absolutely exhausted. But Edinburgh was beautiful, London was a blast (as usual) and now back to school work...but here's a little chapter for the time being, I know it's a bit rough, but I think you'll like it...

**Chapter 8: Getting to know you**

Arthur wasn't nervous. Well, that's what he kept telling himself at least. Strong fingers fumbled with dainty buttons and he sighed in frustration before closing his eyes. One breath, deep, in and out, and he opened them again. He was dressing himself for godsake, to go meet _Mer_lin - why should he be nervous? Probably because over the course of the last week Arthur had become aware of how badly he'd fallen for the big eared, mop headed young man. It had taken him a week after Sainsburys to get up the courage to do something else, and the glares from Gwaine and Gwen were no small factor either. So he had sent flowers because, well, that's what he had done for women he had dated before and Merlin _was_ a girl half the time. Those thoughts aside Arthur slipped into his loafers, snagging his car keys and headed out at twenty to ten.

Merlin on the other hand was sitting on the District line to the Embankment, crutches tucked carefully at his side. Getting out of the bustling station was a nightmare and when he finally emerged into the chill morning air he was forced to stop and straighten out his clothes. Cutting back along Watergate Walk he missed most of the bustle of The Strand before ducking back around the front of the building. He was five minutes early and was feeling somewhat nauseated by the idea of having to go in. His entire outfit wasn't worth a button on the suits of the men walking into the grand lobby. He could turn around now, disappear into the bustle of the street and not have to face what was before him. But Arthur had already been watching him for a moment. Arthur was behind Merlin, having been waiting at the valet stand as the raven haired man had rounded the corner and come to a halt in front of the hotel. His personal assistant was in black slacks which fit awkwardly around the bulky cast that made the man list to the side. Merlin was playing nervously with a thread on the sleeve of the worn cardigan that he wore, which had faded leather patches and a bulky knit . It reminded Arthur of something that an older man might wear, making him think that Merlin must have nicked it from his father's wardrobe once upon a time. As Arthur handed his keys over to the valet he could sense how nervous Merlin was. The man was a stiff reed in the ebb and flow of the busy pavement so before he could bolt Arthur placed a warm, comforting hand on his thin shoulder,

"Good morning." He greeted as Merlin startled, spinning around in a whirl of limbs and gracelessness. Facing Arthur he breathed,

"Hello." It was all Arthur could do not to laugh at the flush on Merlin's sharp cheekbones as he smiled confidently,

"Let's go in then, shall we?" As they crossed the threshold Merlin began to think that their roles had been reversed. In Camelot, Merlin was confident, cheeky and Arthur seemed to flounder with anything involving emotions or feelings. But now Arthur was the confident one, some shift having occurred while he was on sick leave. Arthur reminded him of a lion, a determined glint in his eye, a fluid agility and air of command that Merlin usually only saw from the man when he was working on projects. But as he turned away from maître d'hôtel, that energy was directed at him and Merlin felt as if his stomach had dropped out onto the floor. He quickly looked down to see if it had.

"_Mer_lin." His eyes snapped up, meeting Arthur's, "We're having breakfast."

"Okay." And with that Arthur lead him away to an open dining room. It was pleasantly warm, with a large vaulted ceiling and buzzing with the various business conversations taking place there. A waiter pulled out Merlin's seat, making him roll his eyes slightly as Arthur grinned and took a menu while the man took the crutches.

"I'm glad you came." He looked at Arthur.

"I was the one to ask you."

"They were lovely, by the way."

"What?"

"The flowers." Arthur tried not to look too pleased with himself. It had taken him ages to send the bouquet since he had no idea what you were supposed to do when courting a man. Sure, he'd had quick flings but none of them were Merlin. But Arthur had decided that they couldn't continue with the awkward dynamic they'd had before so as he told Gwaine, he was going to fix it. If he wanted a girl, he went after them and he got them. Why would Merlin be any different? The waiter brought over a tray for tea, ending Arthur's brief contemplation as he began to fix a cup.

Merlin watched him, how his large hands could so delicately prepare a cup of tea. "Is this a date?" He blurted out with his usual tact as Arthur leisurely sipped his tea,

"And if it was?" But Merlin couldn't bring himself to answer yet. It made him feel vulnerable to admit how lovely the idea of a date sounded. "Well, it is." Arthur affirmed, feeling a bit more confident for admitting to it because the whole thing still felt a bit forced and awkward. It was, until Merlin leaned back in his seat and a waiter clipped the side of head with a tray of empty cups that went crashing to the floor. The dining room was silent for a moment, Merlin and the waiter both looking utterly mortified. But then Arthur laughed and the patrons glared and Merlin couldn't help but smile.

"Idiot."

"Prat."

"Takes one to know one."

"That's really the best you've got?"

"Hey, I'm on drugs." Merlin gestured vaguely at his leg as Arthur winced,

"Merlin, I am..." He paused, "I'm really sorry about that. I was jealous-"

"And stupid."

"And stupid." He sighed as Merlin grinned,

"Good. Can we stop being awkward now?"

"Please." A waiter came and the two ordered something to eat, Merlin fidgeted a moment before Arthur looked at him, "I'm paying, you know."

"It's not that Arthur."

"Then what is it about?"

"We need to talk about us."

"Us."

"Arthur don't make this more difficult."

"I'm not. Merlin, I like you, and it's new and a bit strange but I want to give it a shot if you'll let me."

"Arthur." Merlin smiled tenderly at him, "Of course I'll let you."

A few hours later found Merlin and Arthur sitting on a bench along The Mall. Arthur sat on the left, and Merlin on his right. Both clutched a warm cup of hot chocolate that Arthur had snagged from a vendor on their walk. They had meant to go further but Merlin's leg was hurting so they sat down on a bench together, quietly watching the people go by.

"What is home like?" Merlin turned and looked at Arthur, his eyebrows furrowed at the question,

"It's great, it's a small farm. We have a cow, chickens, some sheep. Mum uses the wool to knit, which she sells, and the herb garden she uses for remedies." Arthur made a face, "They work! Really they do, you'd have to try. It's just a quiet life."

"You took the bus all the way from Ealdor just to go to Albion?"

"I didn't have much of a choice. We didn't have a school nearby as it was, and Albion was the best. I was able to get a scholarship to attend."

"You always were at the top of the class. Still are, I assume?"

"I haven't gotten anything below First Class yet." Merlin grinned a bit to himself, wrapping his thin hands around the warm cup. Looking down Arthur regarded the delicate fingers, thinking that they were really one of the most beautiful parts of Merlin. A part of him that expressed an inherent grace that the rest of his body betrayed.

"That's impressive."

"Not really, but thank you."

"I take it you're not going to be my personal assistant for the rest of your life then?" Arthur smirked as Merlin scrunched up his face,

"As much as I truly enjoy being your personal _slave_ I don't think it's exactly what I'm looking for."

"What are you looking for?"

"A position here in London somewhere, maybe the British Museum, or the Library. I've been studying a lot of medieval manuscripts and there are some brilliant collections here in London..." And then Merlin started to ramble on about illuminated manuscripts.

He put his hand down on the bench between himself and Arthur, turning towards him as he became more animated by his passion for the subject. Arthur found it extremely boring but seeing Merlin so excited made him smile, so he listened as Merlin went on about inhabited letters and something about a piece of paper called a Psalter. He watched as his lips moved to form the words, his tongue darting out ever so often to wet them before he'd smile and start on about something else. Slowly he slid his hand on top of Merlin's, making the younger man stop and quirk an eyebrow at Arthur as the blonde leaned in ever so slightly. Carefully and without a word, Arthur moved his hand up Merlin's arm, feeling the brief shiver that ran through his body as his fingers went over the joint of his elbow and up onto his shoulder. It was a gentle touch as Arthur's hand went around the back of Merlin's neck, under his neckerchief and onto the warm skin beneath. And without warning he pulled him forward, crushing his lips to Merlin's with a hunger and intensity that hummed through his muscles like electricity. Merlin stiffened beside him for a moment as his lips moved to fit flush against Arthur's, and then he relaxed, slumping against Arthur's figure as strong arms were wrapped around him and a cup of hot chocolate fell under the bench unnoticed.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors Note: Hello! Glad you liked the last chapter, took them long enough didn't it? Oh, but we're not over yet...maybe a chapter or two more! Please send me any ideas you have for other stories, etc. Or I'll just have to try and figure out something new...Thanks for reading!

**Chapter 9: Ink Stains**

Within a month of that fateful day the dynamic between the two had dramatically changed. Much to Merlin's happiness Arthur had managed to recognise him as his boyfriend and the two often spent most of their time together. It was Tuesday morning, a new shift that both Merlin and Arthur had adopted as Arthur's position became increasingly important to the success of Camelot. Winter was in full swing, and the days to Christmas were winding down quickly. At the current hour, nine am, Arthur was on a rampage. A new intern had been printing out reports when the printer was possessed with an insolent and vengeful spirit which lead it to clunk, spit out a ream of ink drenched paper and grind to a halt.

Merlin, now only in a light ankle brace, had come to the girls rescue. He stopped the printer, getting covered in black ink all the while but essentially saving the young intern from a nervous breakdown. But when Arthur found the two in the copy room Merlin was worried he might have a stroke. The two had been out late the night before and Arthur was in a frightful mood all morning, something Merlin had fully realised when he'd narrowly avoided the empty coffee cup Arthur threw at him. But at the moment, Arthur's face was turning bright red.

"Merlin!"

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was helping get the printer unjammed."

"I needed that pack of paper work for my father twenty minutes ago."

"Then you should have printed it yourself." Arthur turned a new shade of red that Merlin didn't think matched his complexion.

"You idiot, you are _my_ personal assistant."

"I'm not your slave and you are a full grown adult, I think you can press print your prat!" At this point the intern fled as Merlin headed for the office, Arthur following and shouting abuse as Merlin hummed vaguely.

"You stupid-"

"Hm."

"Bumbling-"

"Nh."

"Incompetent-"

"Uh huh." Gwaine shook his head as Arthur stormed by. Some of the people knew that the two were dating, but not many of the other employees knew. The older ones just shook their heads, knowing the two were at it again while the younger interns scattered, horrified at the way Merlin responded to Arthur. But the two men were unfazed by any of the looks they received as Merlin strode through Arthur's door, the man following slammed it shut. Merlin ignored him, a skill he had picked up his first week at Camelot and went over to the laptop, pulling up the report and hitting print.

"You're getting ink on my things!"

"Then you do it."

"Merlin, you are the single most infuriating person I've ever-" Merlin had come around the desk while he spoke, and within a moment he had placed either hand on each side of Arthur's faced and pressed against his anger warmed lips. His tirade ended rather abruptly and Merlin could feel the surprise fade as Arthur's body shifted forward to take control of the situation. But there was a frantic knock on the door as Gwen came in.

"Arthur, you - oh! Oh I am so sorry! I shouldn't have, well I wouldn't have but-"

"What can I do for you Gwen." He sighed as she blushed and Merlin extricated himself from Arthur's grasp.

"Your father is looking for you, it's important."

"Shite." Snagging the papers off the printer he headed out the door, Merlin tailing him quickly.

"Arthur."

"What Merlin?"

"You need to wait a minute."

"I don't have time _Mer_lin," the frustration had returned to his voice once again, "Some of us don't have all the time in the world to finger paint with _printer ink_."

"Speaking of ink Arthur, you've got-" At that moment Merlin was cut off as Uther rounded the corner, taking in the appearance of the two men. Both were flushed, Merlin's hands were covered with the same ink that now framed either side of Arthur's face, a contrast to his moist red lips. Merlin lost his flush, the blood draining from his face as realisation shone clearly in Uther's eyes. Arthur was oblivious.

"Arthur."

"Father, the paper work you requested." He held it out as Uther took it quickly, eyes glancing over the words and charts, flicking up to Arthur's face ever so often. Finally, he raised his head and looked at his son again, his jaw tightening and shifting slightly as he looked back to Merlin.

"Your sister is arriving home for the holiday tonight, I expect you'll be at the house for dinner?" Though he posed it as a question, there was only expectation in his voice.

"Yes Father."

"Then I will see you there." Uther turned on his heel, striking off down the hall with a determined stride as Merlin slumped with a gulp.

"Arthur."

"_What _Merlin?"

"Come here." Grabbing Arthur by the wrist he pulled him into his office and the private washroom, shoving him in front of the mirror.

"Why didn't you tell me!" He shouted, eyes wide as he rubbed at his face. Merlin sighed,

"I was trying to tell you but you wouldn't stop! Now what?" Arthur chewed his lip. While he could tell his friends that he and Merlin were dating, his father was a different matter. Arthur knew Uther wouldn't agree and he had been purposefully trying to avoid this moment for the last month. But the moment had finally come.

"I don't know."

"Arthur," Merlin tried not to look hurt, "Aren't you going to tell him?"

"I will, I know I need to it's just."

"Just what?" He pressed. He didn't usually try and push Arthur, he let him come to terms with things at his own speed but he was tired of hiding their relationship because of Uther. Arthur already did so much because of the man, missing dinner dates, cancelling plans, it scared him sometimes the power Uther had on his boyfriend. That's all he wanted from Arthur, just to be his boyfriend and it made him giddy inside, but when Uther was mentioned it was if someone had come and stomped all the butterflies in his stomach and replaced them with a gnawing sense of dread and trepidation.

"Nothing Merlin." Arthur smiled at his boyfriend before claiming his lips with a tender kiss, "I've got dinner with my father tonight, but I'll pick you up after?" With a roll of his eyes Merlin put a hand up to the side of Arthur's face,

"Of course." And with that he dragged his hand down, smearing the last of the remaining ink along Arthur's chiseled jaw before turning and running.

"_Merlin!_"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Dinner was an affair that Arthur wished he could have missed. Uther sat at the head of the long mahogany table, Morgana on his left, Arthur on his right, the three of them eating quietly. Uther watched Arthur, his son could sense it as he took another bite of the roast that had been prepared for them. Looking up Arthur met Morgana's eyes and she grinned at him, winking,

"So Daddy, are you going to be around for Christmas this year?" She asked with a sickly sweet tone. Uther had taken the girl in when she was six and Arthur had begrudgingly taken care of his half-sister, beating up anyone who went near her...Until she grew up and could tear Arthur or Uther apart with her perfectly manicured nails and cutting words.

"I will be here that morning, then I'll be flying out for New York in the afternoon." The siblings wore their surprise openly on their faces, not knowing Uther to be home for the holiday. Ever since they'd gotten into their teens Uther had seen his duty as a father on Christmas to be past, and would use the opportunity to travel for business since Camelot would use the few days surrounding Christmas to close.

"Then we can have a real Christmas morning." Morgana smiled, taking a drink of her wine as Uther gave an uninterested nod. Arthur could sense the conversation that would be following dinner and he drew out their meal as long as possible to avoid it. But Morgana and his Father finished and he finally pushed his plate away with a sigh.

"Morgana my dear, will you excuse Arthur and I?"

"Yes of course Father." She regarded her adopted father and turned to Arthur, searching his eyes for a moment before getting up in a flourish, "I'll be retiring for the evening, but I believe we should have breakfast together in the morning." She stood, taking her glass and heading for her bedroom down the long dining hall and out the door.

"We'll go to my study." Uther said, leading the way through the expensive town house while Arthur simply looked at the paintings and antiques that lined the halls. Reality was beginning to crush him slowly like the weight of an ocean pouring into his chest and his hand itched along the outline of his mobile in his pocket, he just wanted to text Merlin. They walked into the dark study, Arthur finding his way to the leather chair in front of the desk as Uther sat down behind it and busied himself with a drink.

"That boy that's working for us."

"Which one."

"You know full well which one I'm speaking of Arthur. Your assistant."

"Merlin."

"I'm just hoping you remember where your place in society is, and don't happen to get mixed up with the wrong crowd."

"And exactly what kind of crowd is that Father." Arthur's voice was flat with a sharp edge, making Uther turn and regard his son with a cold gaze.

"If you forget your proper associations then it looks bad for the company. And I refuse to allow that to happen." It was a deep breath, filling Arthur's chest and giving him a moment to find courage,

"I love him."

"You feel nothing of the sort Arthur. You are confused, and you feel responsible for the accidents that have befallen the boy, but it is not love."

"And what will you do Father?" The question was like venom.

"I will have no choice but to correct the error of your ways. He will be fired and you will be sent to the New York office. It's already your project and it would only be fitting if you were there." Arthur paused, his anger flaring within his chest. He needed Merlin, but his father had so much control over the business, over everything. "I know you see it how I do Arthur, you've been confused and I do not blame you for it. You feel responsible, like you need to care for him. But you haven't been out with other women." Arthur bristled and Uther noticed, shifting slightly in his chair as he thought about the argument,

"Even men Arthur, and you're willing to run into this without thinking that far ahead?" Arthur was suddenly doubting himself, part of him, his heart, beat strongly against his mind as it tumbled over what his father was saying about Merlin. Their relationship really had happened so fast, but no, no he...he loved him, truly, didn't he? Uther smiled at his son, before taking a sip of brandy and sitting back. "I recommend you take a break, go to New York, see how the company is doing under Leon and see if it _clears_ your head."

Arthur nodded blankly, his mind suddenly awash with too many feelings and ideas to think clearly. Grinning, Uther took another drink and leaned back in his chair, "Perhaps you'll stay the night and visit with Morgana? She does miss you."

"Yes." Arthur got up and turned, leaving the room and heading to the kitchen for a drink. Reaching into his pocket he fished out his iPhone, sliding it off lock to reveal Merlin's text.

_I miss you love xxxM_

Biting his lip Arthur typed a quick response before slipping it back into his pocket.

_Can't come tonight, work, see you at work. xA_


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: And the hate mail rolls in the for the last chapter...just kidding! Though as my girlfriend said, Arthur was "being a douche" (isn't she eloquent?) so let's see where we go with this chapter! There can be an epilogue after this, but that's it, Thanks for staying with me! If you want an epilogue or not, let me know

**Chapter 10: Don't Go**

It had felt like an eternity to Merlin, but it'd only been a week. A week of Arthur not barely returning his calls or texts, and on top of that he'd given him time off to finish his term papers. It was Tuesday morning and he'd finally get the chance to confront Arthur. Chewing on his lip thoughtfully, Merlin couldn't help but fidget nervously as he tried to drink his morning tea. Gwaine came up behind him, setting down his cup of coffee, both of their shifts starting in a few minutes.

"Have you seen him?" He asked, wrapping a comforting arm around his friend. Merlin, Gwen, Lancelot, Leon, Percival and himself had gone out for drinks the night before. Gwen and Merlin were both done with the term, and the boy had looked beat. After two pints he'd broken down, explaining to to the four of them how Arthur hadn't seen him all week and would barely talk to him. It had broken Gwaine's heart to see his friend like this especially since he and Arthur had been doing so well. Leon and Percival didn't know where their friend had been and Gwaine had half the mind to punch Arthur in the face the minute he walked into Camelot, his father be damned.

"Not yet, I figured I'd corner him in his office..."

"That'd usually be pretty kinky." Gwaine wriggled his eyebrows and Merlin gave him a half-hearted laugh, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He was afraid of what Arthur might say, which was a new experience for him. Rejection was something he'd never feared from Arthur, and he could take any insult, but when he'd been so happy for the last month the idea of it all crashing down made his heart ache.

"Well why don't you go bring the Princess his tea and we'll talk at lunch."

"I'll meet you here." Ruffling his hair the man stepped away heading for the door,

"It's gonna be okay my friend."

"Gwaine?"

"Yeah Merlin?"

"Thanks."

"Any time." Winking he headed for his usual post as Merlin picked up Arthur's cup and headed for his office. He was nearly there when Uther turned the corner, looking at Merlin as he walked up to the young man, severe in his well tailored suit.

"Emrys."

"Sir?"

"I understand that you and my son have been carrying on a relationship." Merlin took a deep breath before he opened his mouth,

"Yes, that's true."

"Well I am happy to hear that it will be ending."

"What do you mean?" Eyebrows furrowed, Merlin frowned at the man in front of him who began to smirk,

"Arthur is going to New York next week. He'll be the head of operations at the Camelot branch in the States, and since he'll be leaving, there will be no need for you here."

"But."

"No buts Emrys. Arthur doesn't need you." With that Uther walked past him, gliding down the hall as Merlin fought to hold the tea cup in his hand still. His legs were stiff, but he willed them to move, faster and faster as he got closer to Arthur's office. It was beginning to make sense now, why Arthur had been so distant and he could only hope that he could talk to him, get him to change his mind. No wonder he had been so distant, he was taking what his father had to say to heart and it terrified Merlin. Opening the door he was greeted by an empty office, and he hurried to put the tea cup down, noticing that Arthur had left his jacket and briefcase by the door. Nearly running out of the office he headed down the hall, checking the conferences room as he went by. But he couldn't find his boyfriend in a single one. In desperation he flung open the stairwell door and headed for the lobby.

Arthur nodded to Gwaine, who glared at his back as he walked to the lift, getting in and heading back up to his office for some paperwork. He and Uther were going to have a talk. Checking his appearance one last time, Arthur took the folder of papers from his desk and headed down the hall to his father's office. Knocking twice there was a momentary pause until he heard the response,

"Come in." Opening the door Arthur closed it gently behind him and stood for a moment, looking at his father from across the room. Uther was smiling ever so slightly as he took a sip of tea and gestured for Arthur to take a seat. With an air of confidence the blonde haired man came over and set the file on the desk, sitting in the leather chair opposite of his father. It had taken him a week to sort out his feelings, one week of being alone, hurting and regretting his indecision and cowardice. But he was done now, and he was going to be settling the issue once and for all.

"I've been thinking about what you had to say Father, and there are things I find that I agree with." Uther smiled openly at this, nodding his head for Arthur to continue. "The company in New York was my project, I planned and executed the expansion and I have Leon functioning as the temporary CEO, should I decide to step in and take over the role."

"Arthur I'm glad you're starting to see things my way." It was Arthur's turn to smile.

"And seeing as the company has been a collaboration solely between Leon and myself, that branch, though an off shoot of Camelot, would be mine entirely if I so chose to sever my ties from Camelot here in London."

"Arthur, what are you going on about." But he didn't respond, instead he pulled out the paper work from his file folder, sliding it across the desk to Uther. "Arthur what is all of this?" He demanded as his son sat back with a smug expression.

"Those are the figures of how much of Camelot I have control over, and the expected financial outcomes if I were to withdraw. It seems to be rather detrimental from the figures I've pulled up. Also, included are list of the investors that would follow me in my endeavors in New York if I so chose to move." By the time Arthur had finished laying out his case for his father to see, Uther had turned bright red, sputtering with anger at what his son had accomplished. Arthur put his hands on the front of the desk, looking at his Father. Both he and Morgana loved their father no matter what his old fashioned sensibilities and ruthless ambition lead him to do. But he refused to let him dictate another aspect of his life, he'd had enough.

"I've finally come to understand the errors of my way with Merlin, Father."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

By the time he'd made it to the bottom of the stares Merlin couldn't seem to quell the rising nausea in his stomach. Hurrying across the lobby Merlin ran up to Gwen,

"Have you seen Arthur?"

"Merlin what's wrong?"

"Gwen please have you seen Arthur?"

"He came through here probably five or ten minutes ago, got in the lift, but didn't stop in for his mail. What's wrong?" Concern was etched on her face, Merlin looked a mess.

"I, I've just got to talk to him." Turning he headed for the lift, pushing the small button impatiently as it finally came to the ground floor, opening its door for him to go in. His mind was spinning, if he could just talk to him he'd have time, Merlin thought, rushing out of the doors and towards Arthur's office. But when he heard his boyfriend's voice from Uther's office, all time seemed to stop.

"I've finally come to understand the error of my way with Merlin, Father."

It was as if those words were a wrecking ball to the foundations of his world, causing it to come crashing down around him as he stood there shell shocked. It had only taken a couple months for Merlin to go from hating Arthur to being hopelessly in love with him. And all of it had been a waste, and Merlin could barely make himself move back towards the lift. The doors closed and he stumbled back against the wall. All of this time, all of the effort and frustration was for naught and it burned deeply in the pit of his stomach as he stumbled out into the lobby towards the doors. Gwaine caught him, looking alarmed at his appearance,

"Merlin! What's happened?"

"He's leaving Gwaine."

"What?"

"He's leaving, he's going to New York."

"Arthur?"

"Uther told me, he's going to be the CEO for the new company, he's leaving without me and then Uther is going to fire me."

"He can't do that! Have you talked to Arthur, just, for gods sake just let me at him."

"He was in Uther's office, he, he said he'd realised the, the error of his ways." The last few words came out in a sob as Gwaine tried to pull him into his arms, but Merlin pushed back, nearly knocking over a few men who came in, looking perturbed at the disturbance.

"I, I can't be here." He pushed away and headed out the door as Gwaine tried to grab him,

"Merlin! It's pouring rain, Merlin! Come back!" But the man had disappeared down the street and Gwaine could do nothing but watching him run, his heart aching and anger spiking through his chest. Turning he stormed upstairs to find Arthur.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''

"What do you mean?" Uther said, rising from his seat as Arthur followed suit,

"I love him Father, and by denying him and letting you plant these ideas in my head I've failed him and I refuse to let that happen. You raised me to be a pompous brat and he knocked me down a few pegs and taught me to be a human being, and I've treated him like hell and I refuse to let you bully us. I love Merlin, and if you can't accept that then I'll leave, and you can deal with the consequences." Arthur gestured at the paperwork, "Now I'm going to find my boyfriend, and we're taking the day off." Turning on his heel he walked out of the office, flushed and proud.

Heading down the hall he collided into Gwaine, barely having time to recover before he was forced to duck a punch the man threw,

"How dare you, you cock sucking-"

"Gwaine!"

"Fucking piece of-"

"Gwaine stop! What are you talking about!" Arthur stumbled backwards, barely avoiding another blow,

"Merlin is what I'm talking about! New York, Arthur, how dare you do that to him."

"What about New York? Where's Merlin?" Gwaine scoffed,

"Like you don't know? You've been lying to us all, leading him on just to follow your father into a life of solitude and bitterness in New York!"

"I'm not going to New York!"

"Merlin just told me you were!"

"What? Gwaine what the hell is going on?"

"Merlin just ran out of here, into the pouring rain, sobbing that you were leaving him, that you'd realised the 'error of your ways' you fucking-"

"I'm not doing anything! Which way did he go?" Arthur looked panicked and Gwaine paused for a moment, before responding,

"To The Strand, and I swear Arthur Pendragon if you break his heart now I'll kill you." But Arthur didn't stand to listen to the end of the sentence as he tore off down the stairwell. He was out of the lobby and into the rain before Gwen could even finishing calling his name. It was raining hard, and he struggled not to lose his balance on the slick pavement. The morning business traffic was thick, and he struggled down the street, eliciting a great number of exclamations with his brusque manner,

"Hey!"

"Bloody hell Mate!"

"Watch where you're going!"

But once Arthur caught sight of Merlin's form ducking through the people ahead of him, it was all he had eyes for, his mind pressed him forward, _Catch Merlin._ Slipping on the tile of a store front he fell on his knee, grimacing as the contact jarred his figure. But while he was down he saw Merlin dart into the street, his heart jumping into his throat as a cab honked and swerved to miss him. Scrambling to his feet Arthur raced across the street, praying he could reach Merlin before he could disappear into Covent Garden or the bustle of the Underground. He was mere steps away from him now and with one last sprint of energy he snagged Merlin's shirt sleeve, now soaked through with rain.

"Let me go!" He cried as people around them looked, then hurried on quickly.

"No, I'm not letting go Merlin."

"Just leave me alone, please." Merlin pleaded, his tone distressed as Arthur dragged him back against him, his chest heaving against Merlin's back.

"No, it's all wrong Merlin."

"Of course it is!"

"It's not true! I'm not going anywhere."

"Uther told me Arthur! He told me what you're doing, that you're leaving and I'm going to be fired." Arthur felt sick at the revelation of what his father had done, and the pain that drenched Merlin's words.

"It's not true Merlin, I know you heard me talking but you didn't hear everything. I was wrong, I treated you badly Merlin and that's what I meant. That was my error, not cherishing you above my Father's stupid ambitions and ideals." Merlin paused, turning and looking up into Arthur's face as the rain flattened his hair to his forehead and rivulets of water ran down his face.

"What?"

"I'm not leaving, you and I aren't going anywhere. I turned him down, I told him if he threatened to make me leave I'd take the New York company and leave. I refuse to give you up, Merlin, I love you. I've always loved you and I was just too stupid to realise it. That's why I haven't talked to you, I was afraid this was all some great fluke."

"You idiot, why didn't you just tell me."

"Because I couldn't bring myself to talk to you, I just didn't -"

"Arthur?"

"What?"

"Shut up." Merlin tangled his hands in Arthur's blonde locks as he pressed his lips to his. Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin, pulling the smaller man against his chest in a crushing embrace as the rain soaked their clothes through.

"You silly thing." Arthur whispered tenderly against Merlin's lips. People bustled by, staring at the two men who stood in the middle of the sidewalk in the pouring rain, kissing under the glow of Kilgharrah's Chinese Take-Away. Pulling away Merlin smiled shyly as Arthur ran a hand through his wet hair,

"Couldn't you have at least stormed into my office, and not out into the rain you idiot?"

But before he could answer Arthur had grabbed Merlins shirt front and pulled him in for another kiss.


	11. Epilogue

**Authors Note:** Okay! We're done, a few people wanted an epilogue so I've got one for you! I think I'm going to go on to writing a drabble series called the 'ABC's of Merlin' - a one shot for every letter of the alphabet - not very original, I know but we'll see **Would you read it?** Thank you all SO much, you have no idea how much it means to me to see your reviews everyday.

**Epilogue**

That dreary Tuesday morning had turned into a rather complicated day. When the two men had returned Gwaine had immediately sucker punched Arthur in the gut, telling him he'd been a shit boyfriend. Morgana saw the whole thing and proceeded to snog Gwaine in the middle of the lobby while Merlin kneeled next to his boyfriend who had keeled over holding his middle. Uther had walked downstairs during the next moment, and upon seeing his daughter kissing a lowly security guard and his son soaking wet on the ground with his personal assistant, he had promptly taken holiday early and left for New York.

But that was all behind them now, the day was Christmas and Merlin and Arthur stood in the middle of their spacious living room looking at the glowing Christmas tree. Merlin's back was pressed to Arthur's front.

"You're practically vibrating." Arthur murmured, burying his nose in his lovers impossibly dark hair as he received an indignant huff in response.

"I'm excited." The snow had been bad in the north so Merlin had stayed with Arthur for Christmas, resolving to visit his mother with Arthur, for the New Year. But he had taken it upon himself to go slightly overboard with decoration, hanging up lights and garland all around the living room. But the tree, pressed back into the cove of the bay window was the heart of the warming sight. It was tall and grand with multi-coloured lights twisting up and around it with a plethora of glass bulbs that sparkled in the light. Merlin also felt somewhat giddy about the pile of presents at the base of the tree. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"But I wanted too, and if I found presents for you I didn't have to find any for Morgana."

"Arthur!"

"What?" He grinned, turning Merlin around to face him,

"I hope you got her something, she'll be here in a couple of hours."

"A couple hours?" Arthur leaned down, whispering against Merlin's lips as the young man flushed and was walked backwards, his knees hitting the arm of the couch.

"Yes..." The red spread like fire across his cheek bones as Arthur ran his large hands up Merlin's chest, divesting him of his cardigan as his boyfriend simply stared at him. With a mischievous smirk Arthur gave Merlin a firm push, sending the man tumbling backwards onto the couch with a squeak. Limbs akimbo, Merlin looked back up just in time to see Arthur slowly climb over the top of him, rolling his shoulders like a cougar about to pounce. "Arthur."

Reaching up he snagged his lover's shirt, dragging him down on top of him as he managed to wrap his legs up and around his hips. Propping himself up with one arm, Arthur slid a warm hand against Merlin's cheek and thoroughly kissed him. It was heated, Merlin tangling his fingers in Arthur's shirt as their hips pressed together in pursuit of friction. Taking advantage of his position Arthur pushed down against Merlin, rubbing as his mate whimpered in frustration and wriggled Biting his lip, Arthur grinned at the gasp it produced before pulling away and untangling himself. Merlin groaned with displeasure when he moved, but as Arthur then decided to straddle his waist and remove both of their shirts, he forgot the reason he was displeased in the first place and firmly gripped Arthur's hair. It was passionate, the two of them slowly stripping down to their boxers before Merlin turned them over, forcing Arthur's back to the couch.

"Mine." He murmured, nibbling along Arthur's collarbone before biting into his neck, straddling his lap with a grin. The thin cloth that separated the two of them was more apparent than ever as Merlin shifted in his lap, reaching down between them.

"Ew!" Arthur jumped, nearly knocking Merlin out of his lap as Morgana clucked her tongue, Gwaine following her through the doorway, "I did not need to see that."

"Morgana! I will murder you where you stand, I gave you that key for _emergencies_." Arthur hissed as Merlin scrambled off his lap, embarrassed as Gwaine looked down his body, pausing as he got lower, "Gwaine you keep your eyes on the floor or the same goes for you." Getting up Arthur wrapped an arm around Merlin, pulling him protectively against his chest and partly shielding his body from Gwaine.

"Why are you early?" Merlin lamented into Arthur shoulder.

"Don't pout mate, we brought booze."

"And presents, and is that anyway to say hello to your sister on Christmas?"

"Merry Christmas Morgana, now get out."

"No." She answered as she wandered into the kitchen, leaving Gwaine holding a bottle of whiskey and a stupid grin.

"Morning Merlin, happy Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too." He sighed, burying his head in Arthur's chest as Gwaine's mobile started to ring.

"Hello? Happy Christmas Gwen! What? Flooded? That's a shame, no of course, yes. No I understand." Arthur looked over at Gwaine, an eyebrow raised. "Of course! We're at Arthur's! No he won't mind, yeah, Morgana's here too. Merlin is actually standing right in front of me." At that moment Arthur wanted nothing more than too wipe the stupid grin off Gwaine's face with his fist but he stopped when the man said, "All right, see you soon!" and hung up.

"What?"

"Gwen's apartment is flooded. They've cleaned up the mess but they're supposed to be out of it for the day. Told them they could come here."

"Of course you did."

"Arthur don't sound so sour, where is your Christmas cheer?"

"I think it's all gone to his cock."

"Gwaine!"

"Sorry Merlin."

"I'm going to go get dressed." Turning away, Merlin headed for the bedroom as Arthur stood, lost to where his wonderful, sexy Christmas morning had gone. Opening his mouth he went to say something, closed it and glared at Gwaine one last time before turning around and heading into the bedroom.

"That went well."

"That's what we get for coming early."

"Oh Arthur doesn't mind _really_, he loves me too much." Morgana stated, giving Gwaine a kiss before taking their bag of presents over to the tree. "You'll make breakfast?"

"Mmmhm, though I'm not sure they'll be out to join us."

"Nonsense, nothing makes him go limp like having to see me." She said with a mischievous grin, settling on the couch while Gwaine searched the cupboards.

"She's awful." Arthur drawled, laying on their bed as Merlin dug through the drawers.

"She's your sister, and it's Christmas, I think that means she gets away with it today."

"You don't really believe that."

"No, I want sex and I'm unhappy, but it's _Christmas_ Arthur." The same childish excitement was evident in his voice and it simply made any contempt Arthur held melt away into nothing.

"Yes, fine, it's _Christmas_, now give me a shirt."

"Yes Sire," he teased, tossing a shirt at the prone figure on the bed. "But you know, she is your sister," he went over to the bed, carefully getting onto it, "And she did interrupt when I was in a very compromising position." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Then I'll just have to make up for it won't I?" Pulling Merlin down next to him he planted soft kisses along his neck, trailing his hand down his stomach to the waist band of his pyjamas. But a knock at the door, followed by Morgana and Gwen's squeals of delight at one another's company stopped his progression. "I'll make up for it, tonight." He kissed Merlin's chest, feeling him grumble as he moved away. Pulling the shirt over his head he followed Merlin to the living room where Morgana and Gwen were hugging and Lancelot had gone to investigate what Gwaine was attempting to cook.

Merlin gave both Gwen and Morgana a hug and kiss on the cheek before proceeding to remove the two men from the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast, Gwen could you make tea?"

And that's how the five of them came to be seated around the living room that morning. Drinking tea, eating breakfast and enjoying a comfortable Christmas morning full of presents, laughing and just a little bit of whiskey. Gwaine sat by the tree, handing out presents. He thought he'd gotten them when he saw a small box in the back. Snatching it up he looked at the tag,

"Merlin! Catch!" Asking Merlin to catch anything was a bit of a lost cause, and it ended up bouncing off his shoulder and onto the couch between himself and Arthur. The latter of the two, seeing what it was, lunged at it, trying to grab it before Merlin could. But if physical prowess was required to beat Arthur, Merlin could be the most sporting, and he grabbed it up and scrambled off the couch with the little box. All eyes were on him as Arthur flushed, watching the wrapping paper fall away to reveal a black box. When Merlin opened it, he opened his mouth with a small gasp, looking at Arthur. In the box, on a velvet pillow, was a golden ring with the Pendragon insignia.

"Oh Arthur, it's beautiful." Merlin whispered, taking it out and putting it on as Gwen looked more closely at the ring,

"It's gorgeous Merlin." Arthur was blushing at this point, stuttering as Morgana gave him an amused look,

"Well, anyways, it's just a little ring, you know. So everyone knows that you're mine, _Mer_lin." He sniffed, adding quickly, "Not that they'd want you."

"No, of course not you prat." Merlin responded with a smile, leaning down to claim Arthur's lips with his, "But you're _my_ prat." He whispered softly as Arthur spoke,

"Always."


End file.
